Class J) 



Book 



1 



J 6 



GPO 



THE ' . 

NATIONAL LIBRARY. 



THE REV. G. 11. GLEIG, M.A. M.R. S.L. &c. 



ASSISTED BY VARIOUS EMINENT WRITERS, 




N°- IV. 

THE HISTORY OF CHIVALRY, 

BY 

G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ. 

AUTHOR OF " DE L'ORME," m DARNLEY," " RICHELIEU," ETC. 



LONDON : 

HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY, 

NEW BURLINGTON STREET ; 
BELL $c BRADFUTE, EDINBURGH; & CUMMING, DUBLIN. 



1830. 




CEREMONY OF CONFERRING KNIGHTHOOD. 



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HISTORY 



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CHIVALRY. 



G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ. 

AUTHOR OP " DE L'ORME," " DARNLEY," ** RICHELIEU," ETC. 



LONDON: 
HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY, 



NEW BURLINGTON STREET. 



1830. 



C. WHITING, BKAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND » 



U 22 1904 
if Transfer 



PREFACE. 



In writing the pages which follow this preface, 1 
have had to encounter the difficulty of compressing 
very extensive matter into an extremely limited space 
As the subject was, in my eyes, a very interesting one, 
and every particular connected with it had often been 
food for thought and object of entertainment to my- 
self, the task of curtailing was the more ungrateful : 
nor should I have undertaken it, had I not been con- 
vinced by my publisher that one volume would be as 
much as the public in general would be inclined to 
read. I wished to write upon Chivalry and the Cru- 
sades, because I fancied that in the hypotheses of many 
other authors I had discovered various errors and 
mistatements, which gave a false impression of both 
the institution and the enterprise ; and I have endea- 
voured, in putting forth my own view of the subject, 
to advance no one point, however minute, which cannot 
be justified by indisputable authority. A favourite theory 
is too often, in historical writing, like the bed of the 
ancient Greek; and facts are either stretched or 
lopped away to agree with it : but to ensure as much 



VI 



PREFACE. 



accuracy as possible, I have taken pains to mark in the 
margin of the pages, the different writers on whose 
assertions my own statements are founded, with a cor- 
responding figure, by which each particular may be 
referred to its authority. 

In regard to these authors themselves, it seems ne- 
cessary here to give some information, that those per- 
sons who are inclined to inquire beyond the mere 
surface, may know what credit is to be attached to 
each. 

On the first crusade we have a whole host of con- 
temporary writers, many of whom were present at the 
events they describe. Besides these, are several others, 
who, though they wrote at an after-period, took in- 
finite pains to render their account as correct as pos- 
sible. The authors I have principally cited for all 
the earlier facts of the Holy War, are William of Tyre, 
Albert of Aix, Fulcher of Chartres, Raimond of Agiles, 
Guibert of Nogent, Radulph of Caen, and Robert, 
surnamed the Monk. 

William of Tyre is, beyond all doubt, the most il- 
lustrious of the many historians who have written on 
the crusades. Born in Palestine, and though both 
educated for the church and raised step by step to its 
highest dignities, yet mingling continually in the poli- 
tical changes of the Holy Land — the preceptor of one 
of its kings — frequently employed in embassies to 
Europe, and ultimately Archbishop of Tyre and Chan- 
cellor of the kingdom of Jerusalem, William possessed 



PREFACE. 



Vll 



the most extensive means of gathering materials for 
the great work he has left to posterity. He brought 
to his task, also, a powerful mind, as well as consider- 
able discrimination ; and was infinitely superior in 
education and every intellectual quality to the general 
chroniclers of his age. He was not born, however, at 
the time of the first crusade ; and consequently, where 
he speaks of the events of that enterprise, we may look 
upon him as an historian, clear, talented, elegant, and 
not extremely credulous ; but we must not expect to 
find the vivid identity of contemporaneous writing. 

In regard to the history of his own days he is in- 
valuable, and in respect to that of the times which pre- 
ceded them, his work is certainly superior, as a whole, to 
any thing that has since been written on the subject. 
Of course he was affected by the prejudices of his age, 
but in a much less degree than any of his contempo- 
raries, and those very prejudices served to show the 
spirit of the time. Most of those who have written 
since, have been equally influenced, though in a dif- 
ferent way, and their prejudices have only served to 
obscure all, instead of displaying any thing. 

A much more vivid and enthusiastic picture of the 
first crusade is to be found in Albert of Aix, from 
whom William of Tyre borrowed many of his details ; 
but the Syrian archbishop living long after, saw the 
events he recounted as a whole; rejected much as 
false, that Albert embraced as true, and softened the 
zealous fire which the passions and feelings of the mo- 



Vlll 



PREFACE. 



ment had lighted up in the bosom of the other. Al- 
bert himself was not one of the crusaders ; but living 
at the time, and conversing continually with those 
who returned from the Holy Land, he caught, to an 
extraordinary extent, the spirit of the enterprise, and 
has left behind him a brilliant transcript of all the 
passed-by dreams and long-extinguished enthusiasms 
of his day. 

Thus, as a painting of manners and customs, the 
Chronicon Hierosolymitanum is one of the most va- 
luable records we possess, and the account there given 
of Peter the Hermit and Gautier sans avoir is in 
many points more full and comprehensive than any 
other. 

Fulcher of Chartres set out for the Holy Land with 
Stephen, Count of Blois, one of the first crusaders. He 
soon after became chaplain to Baldwin, the brother of 
Godfrey de Bouillon, and ended his days a canon of the 
Holy Sepulchre. His relation is useful in many 
respects, especially in regard to the march of the cru- 
saders through Italy — the proceedings of Baldwin at 
Edessa, and the history of Jerusalem for several years 
after its conquest. His style, however, is tumid and 
circumlocutory, and his credulity equal to that of Rai- 
mond d'Agiles. Many of the latter pages of his work 
are filled with dissertations on the natural productions 
of Syria and Egypt ; from amongst all the errors and 
absurdities of which, much information might be 
gleaned in regard to the history of science. 



PREFACE. 



ix 



Raimond d'Agiles accompanied the Count of Tou- 
louse on the first crusade, in quality of chaplain. 
Superstitious to the most lamentable degree, and as 
bigoted in party politics as in religion, he wrote as he 
lived, like a weak and ignorant man. Nevertheless 
there is, in his account, much excellent information, 
detailed with simplicity ; and very often, through the 
folly of the historian, we arrive at truths which his 
prejudices concealed from himself. 

Guibert of Nogent did not visit the Holy Land, but 
he lived during the first crusade, and, in common with 
all Europe, felt deeply interested in the fate of that 
expedition. He examined and noted with accuracy all 
the anecdotes which reached Europe, and painted with 
great vivacity scenes that he had not himself witnessed. 
As a priest, Guibert was superstitious, and as a man, he 
was enthusiastic ; but he seems to have possessed quick 
parts and great intelligence. He was learned, also, 
and somewhat pedantic ; and, though an ancient monk, 
he had nearly as much vanity as a modern philosopher. 
In his account of the crusade many circumstances, 
evincing strongly the spirit of the age, are to be met 
with which do not appear elsewhere ; and, as we have 
every reason to feel sure of his general accuracy, it is 
but fair to suppose that these are well founded. 

Radulph, or Raoul, of Caen, is inflated in style, and 
often inexact ; but he is perhaps less superstitious than 
any other chronicler of the crusades. By poetical 
exaggeration, he often renders his narrative doubtful ; 



X 



PREFACE. 



yet, as the biographer of Tancred, he tends to elucidate 
much that would otherwise have remained in darkness. 
Robert, called the Monk, was present at the council of 
Clermont, at which the first crusade was determined ; 
and, though he did not immediately take the cross, he 
set out for the Holy Land not long after, and was pre- 
sent at the siege of Jerusalem. He is in general ac- 
curate and precise ; and, though not a little credulous 
in regard to visions, apparitions, and such imagina- 
tions of the day, he is on the whole more calm, clear, 
and exact, than any other contemporary author. 

Besides these writers, I have had occasion to cite 
several others of less authority. Of these, Baldric 
bears the highest character ; and, notwithstanding the 
fact of his not having been present at the crusade, he is 
in general accurate. Tudebodus is both brief and im- 
perfect. Matthew of Edessa deserves little or no credit ; 
and the part of the Alexiad which refers to the first 
crusade is far more likely to mislead than to assist. 
The most important part of the whole work, as it is 
published at present, consists in the notes of Ducange. 
William of Malmsbury is more useful, but still his 
account is merely a repetition of what we find in other 
sources. For all the affairs of Normandy, I have con- 
sulted Orderic, Vital, and William of Jumieges. 

The history of William of Tyre was afterwards con- 
tinued by several writers, the chief of whom is an author 
taking the title of Bernard the Treasurer. A Latin 
version of his book was published by Muratori : Mar- 



PREFACE. 



X 



tenne, however, has since printed a work from an old 
French manuscript, the identity of which with the ac- 
count of Bernard the Treasurer, has been proved by 
Mansi. This work is one of the most interesting extant; 
for although it wants entirely either the power or the 
grace of William of Tyre's composition, and is full of 
errors, in respect to every thing beyond the immediate 
limits of the Holy Land, yet there is a simple and in- 
teresting minuteness — an individuality of tone through 
the whole, where it relates to the affairs of Syria, which 
could not have been given but by an eyewitness. 
Even the old French in which it is written, slightly dif- 
ferent from the exact language of France at the same 
period, gives it a peculiar character, and stamps 
it as the work of a Syrian Frank. Another con- 
tinuation of William of Tyre is extant, by a Suabian 
of the name of Herold. This, however, is a much 
later composition, and possesses few of the qualities 
of the other. The Cardinal de Vitry also wrote 
an abbreviated history of the Crusades, bringing it 
down to his own time, a.d. 1220. His work is prin- 
cipally to be consulted for the account it gives of the 
events which passed under the author's own eyes, 
while Bishop of Acre, and for a great many curious 
particulars concerning the manners and customs of the 
Saracens, which are to be found in no other work. 
The second book of the Cardinal de Vitry's History 
has been omitted, I cannot conceive why, in the Gesta 
Dei per Francos. It is, nevertheless, infinitely valua- 



xii 



PREFACE. 



ble as showing the horrible state of the Christians of 
Palestine, and displaying those vices and weaknesses 
which eventually brought about the ruin of the Latin 
kingdom. 

The authorities for the second crusade are lamentably 
few, and by their very paucity show what a change 
had come over the spirit of the age, in the short space 
of fifty years. The only eyewitnesses who have written 
on the subject, as far as I can discover, are Odo, a 
priest of Deuil, or Diagolum, in the neighbourhood of 
Paris, and Otho, Bishop of Freysinghen. The first of 
these authors followed Louis VII. to the Holy Land as 
his chaplain, and his account is, more properly speak- 
ing, an epistle to the famous Suger, Abbot of St. 
Denis, than a chronicle. 

Otho of Freysinghen, was nearly related to the em- 
peror Conrad, whom he accompanied on his unfortu- 
nate expedition. Both these authors, therefore, had 
the best means of obtaining information ; and, in the 
writings of each, there is an air of truth and sincerity, 
which does much towards conviction. I have had 
occasion in speaking of this crusade to cite casually a 
number of authors, of whom it is not necessary to give 
any very detailed account. Their works are to be 
found in the admirable collections of Dom Bouquet, 
Duchesne, Martenne, or Muratori. 

Wherever I have been obliged to quote from any of 
the Arabian writers, I am indebted to the extracts of 
Monsieur Reinaud. 



PREFACE. 



xiii 



In regard to the crusade of Richard Coeur de Lion 
and Philip Augustus; for the history of the first, I 
have borrowed from Benedict of Peterborough, from 
Hovedon, and especially from Vinesauf, whose work is 
inestimable. These, with the other English authorities 
I have cited, are too well known to need comment. 
Having some time ago written a romance, not yet pub- 
lished, on the history of Philip Augustus, I had previ- 
ously studied almost all the old chroniclers who speak 
of that monarch. The most important treatise on his 
reign is the work of Rigord, who was at once monk, 
physician, and historiographer at the court of Philip. 
William the Breton, one of the king's chaplains, con- 
tinued his history in prose, from the period where Ri- 
gord abandoned the task. He also wrote a bombastic 
poem on the reign of his patron, which, however exag- 
gerated and absurd, is useful as an historical docu- 
ment, and a painting of the manners and customs of 
the time. On the taking of Constantinople by the 
French, I have found no want of authorities. Ville- 
hardouin, one of the principal actors in the scenes he 
describes, has been my chief source of information. I 
have also met with much in Nicetas, who was present; 
and I have confirmed the evidence of other writers, 
by the chronicle in the Rouchy dialect, published by 
Monsieur Buchon, and by the metrical chronicle of 
Philippe Mouskes in the same collection. I need 
hardly say that the works of Ducange have proved in- 
valuable in every part of my inquiry, and that his 



xiv 



PREFACE. 



history of Constantinople under its French monarchs, 
both gave me facts and led me to authorities. 

Joinville is the principal writer on the crusade of St. 
Louis. He was an eyewitness, a sufferer, and a prin- 
cipal actor in the scenes he describes. Of all old 
chroniclers, with the exception, perhaps, of Froissart, 
Joinville offers the most original, simple, and delight- 
ful painting of times and manners long gone by. With 
the notes of Ducange, his work is an erudite reper- 
tory for antique manners and usages, and may be read 
and re-read with gratification, and studied deeply with 
advantage. 

The folio edition in my own library, comprises the 
Observations and Dissertations of Ducange, and the 
Commentaries of Claud Menard; together with the 
Establishments of St. Louis, and a curious treatise 
upon the ancient law of France, by Pierre de Fon- 
taines. All these works afford a great insight into the 
spirit of that day; and many other particulars are to 
be found in the Branche aux royaux Lignayes, and 
in the Sermon of Robert de Sainceriaux. Besides 
the authors I have here particularized, I have had 
occasion to cite casually a great number of others, 
whose names, with some account of the works of 
each, may be found in the Manuel of Brunet. 
Vertot also has furnished us with much information 
concerning the Knights of St. John; and Dupuy, 
Raynouard, &c, have spoken largely of the Tem- 
plars. I cannot close the enumeration of authors to 



PREFACE. 



XV 



whom I am under obligations for information or in- 
struction, without mentioning M. Guizot, one of the 
most clearsighted and unprejudiced of all modern 
historians. His views of causes I have often adopted, 
sometimes with very slight modifications, and some- 
times with none; and, in all instances to which his 
writings extend, I have been indebted to him for light 
to conduct me through the dark sanctuary of past 
events, to the shrine of Truth, even where he has not 
unveiled the deity herself. I can only regret that his 
essays did not embrace more of the very comprehen- 
sive subject on which I was called to treat. 

Several motives have impelled me to give this long 
account of my authorities ; one of which motives was, 
that often, in reading works on history, I have myself 
wished that the sources from which facts were derived 
had been laid open to my examination ; but still, my 
principal view in the detail, was to show the ground 
on which I had fixed opinions directly opposed to those 
of several other authors. In many cases, the aspect 
under which I have seen the events of the crusades, 
has been entirely different from that under which Mills 
has regarded them, and I felt myself called upon not 
to attack any position of a clever writer and a learned 
man, without justifying myself as completely as pos- 
sible. 

In regard to my own work I shall say nothing, but 
that I have spared neither labour nor research to make 
it as correct as if it had appeared under a much 



XVI 



PREFACE. 



more imposing- form. In space, I have been confined; 
and in time, I have been hurried : but I have endea- 
voured to remedy the one inconvenience, by cutting off 
all superfluous matter; and to guard against evil con- 
sequences from the other, by redoubling my own exer- 
tions. Whether I have succeeded or not the world 
must judge; and if it does judge with the same gene- 
rous lenity which it has extended to my other produc- 
tions, I shall have every reason to be both satisfied 
and grateful. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Page 

A definition, with remarks and evidence— An inquiry into the origin 
of Chivalry — Various opinions on the subject — Reasons for doubt- 
ing the great antiquity of Chivalry properly so called — The state 
of society which preceded it, and of that which gave it birth— Its 
origin and early progress . . . . . .1 

CHAPTER II. 
Of chivalrous customs — Education — Grades — Services on the recep- 
tion of a knight— On tournaments— Jousts — Combats at outrance — 
Passages of arms— The round table— Privileges of knighthood- 
Duties of knighthood ...... .16 

CHAPTER III. 
The progress of Chivalry in Europe — Exploits — That some great en- V 
terprise was necessary to give Chivalry an extensive and perma- 
nent effect — That enterprise presented itself in the crusades — 
Pilgrimage to Jerusalem — Haroun Al Raschid— Charlemagne — 
Cruelties of the Turks — Pilgrimages continued — Peter the Hermit 
— Council of Clermont . . . . . . . 3& 

CHAPTER IV. 
The effects of the council of Clermont — State of France — Motives of 
the people for embracing the crusade — Benefits produced — The 
enthusiasm general — Rapid progress — The first bodies of crusaders 
begin their march — Gautier sans avoir — His army — Their dis- 
asters — Reach Constantinople — Peter the Hermit sets out with an 
immense multitude — Storms Semlin — Defeated atsNissa — His host 
dispersed — The remains collected — Joins _Gautier — Excesses of 
the multitude — The Italians and Germans separate from the 
French — The Germans exterminated — The French cut to pieces — 
Conduct of Alexius . • . . . . .60 

CHAPTER V. 
The Chivalry of Europe takes the field— The leaders— Godfrey of 
Bouillon — Conducts his army towards Constantinople — Hugh the 
Great— Leads his army through Italy — Embarks for Durazzo — - 
Taken prisoner — Liberated — Robert, Duke of Normandy — Winters 
in Italy — Arrives at Constantinople — Robert, Count of Flanders — 
Joins the rest — Boemond of Tarentum — Tancred — Their march- 
Defeat the Greeks— Boemond does homage — Tancred avoids it — 
The Count of Toulouse arrives— Refuses to do homage— Robert o 
Koxmandy does homage . . • • . • 7T 



XV111 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

CHAPTER VI. 
Germ of after-misfortunes already springing up in the crusade — 
Siege of Nice — First engagement with the Turks— .Siege con- 
tinued — The lake occupied — Surrender of Nice to the emissaries 
of JAlexius— Discontent— March towards Antioch — The army di- 
yides into two bodies — Battle of Doryloeum — Dreadful march 
through Phrygia — Adventures of Baldwin and Tancred — Arrival 
at Antioch — The city invested . . . ■ . • .98 

CHAPTER VII. 
The host of the crusade invests Antioch— Description of that city — 
Difficulties and errors of the crusaders — Improvidence — Famine — 
Spies — Desertions — Embassy from the Calif of Egypt — Succours 
from the Genoese and Pisans — Battle — Feats of the Christian 
knights — Boemond keeps up a communication within the town — 
The town betrayed to the Christians — Massacres — Arrival of an 
army from Persia — The Christians besieged in Antioch — Famine — 
Desertions — Visions — Renewed enthusiasm— Diminished Forces 
of the Christians — Battle of Antioch — The crusaders victorious — 
Spoils — Disputes with the court of Toulouse — The chiefs deter- 
mine to repose at Antioch — Ambassadors sent to Alexius— Fate of 
their embassy . . . . . . . . 126 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Pestilence in Antioch— Death of the Bishop of Puy— The chiefs 
separate — Siege of Marrah — Cannibalism — Disputes between the 
Count of Toulouse and Boemond — The Count marches towards 
Jerusalem — Siege of Archas— Godfrey of Bouillon marches— Siege 
of Ghibel — Treachery of Raimond — Fraud of the holy lance inves- 
tigated — Ordeal of fire — Decisive conduct of the crusaders towards 
the deputies of Alexius, and the Calif of Egypt— Conduct of the 
crusaders towards the Emir of Tripoli— First sight of Jerusalem- 
Siege and taking of the city— Fanatical massacres . . .153 

CHAPTER IX. 
Election of a king— Godfrey of Bouillon— Sketch of the history of Je- 
rusalem — Death of the chief crusaders — New bodies of crusaders set 
out from Europe— Their destruction in Asia Minor— Armed pil- 
grimages—The northern armaments— The Venetians— The Ge- 
noese and Pisans— Anecdotes of the crusaders— Battle of the 
children at Antioch— The Thafurs— Baldwin's humanity well re- 
paid—Superstitions—Arms of the crusaders— Of the Turks— Hos- 
pitallers— Templars . . . . , . .167 

CHAPTER X. 
Consequences of the loss of Edessa— The state of France unfavour- 
| able to a new crusade— View of the progress of society— Causes 
and character of the second crusade— St. Bernard— The Emperor 



CONTENTS. 



xix 



of Germany takes the cross and sets out— Loins VII. follows — 
Conduct of the Germans in t Greece — Their destruction in Cappa. 
docia — Treachery of Manuel Comnenus — Louis VII. arrives at 
Constantinople — Passes into Asia — Defeats the Turks on the Me- 
ander — His army cut to pieces — Proceeds by sea to Antioch — Fate 
of his remaining troops — Intrigues at Antioch — Louis goes on to 
Jerusalem — Siege of Damascus — Disgraceful failure — Conrad re- 
turns to Europe — Conduct of Suger, Abbot of St. Denis— Termi- 
nation of the second crusade . . • . . .191 

CHAPTER XI. 
Progress of society — The rise of poetry in modern Europe — Trouba- 
dours — Trouveres— Various poetical compositions — Effect of poetry 
upon Chivalry — Effect of the crusades on society — State of Pales- 
tine after the second crusade — Cession of Edessa to the Emperor 
Manuel Comnenus — Edessa completely subjected by the Turks — 
Ascalon taken by the Christians — State of Egypt under the last 
Califs of the Fatimite race — The Latins and the Atabecks both de- 
sign the conquest of Egypt — Struggles for that country — Rise of 
Saladin — Disputes among the Latins concerning the succession of 
the crown — Guy of Lusignan crowned — Saladin invades Palestine 
— Battle of Tiberias — Fallot" Jerusalem— Conquest of all Palestine 
— Some inquiry into the causes of the Latin overthrow . . 214 

CHAPTER XII. 
The news of the fate of Palestine reaches Europe — The Archbishop 
of Tyre comes to seek for aid — Assistance granted by William the 
Good, of Sicily — Death of Urban, from grief at the loss of Jeru- 
salem — Gregorj T VIII. promotes a crusade — Expedition of Frederic,, 
Emperor of Germany — His successes— His death— State of Eu- 
rope — Crusade promoted by the Troubadours— Philip Augustus 
and Henry II. take the cross — Laws enacted — Saladin's tenth — 
War renewed — Death of Henry II. — Accession of Richard Coeur 
de Lion — The crusade — Philip's march — Richard's march — Affairs 
of Sicily — Quarrels between the monarchs— Philip goes to Acre — 
Richard subdues Cyprus — Arrives at Acre — Siege and taking of 
Acre — Fresh disputes — Philip Augustus returns to Europe — 
Richard marches on — Battle of Azotus — Heroism of Richard — Un- 
steady councils — The enterprise abandoned . . . 233 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Death of Saladin — Disunion amongst his successors — Celestine III. 
preaches a new crusade — Henry of Germany takes the cross — 
Abandons his purpose — Crusaders proceed without him — Saif 
Eddin takes the field, and captures Jaffa — The crusaders are rein- 
forced — Defeat Saif Eddin — Lay siege to Thoron — Siezed with 
panic, and retreat — Disperse — Death of Henry of Champagne, 
King of Jerusalem — His widow marries Almeric, King of Cyprus — 
Truce— Death of Almeric j and Isabella Mary, heiress of Jerusa- 



XX 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

lem, wedded to John of Brienne— Affairs of Europe— Innocent III. 
and Foulque, of Neuilly, promote a crusade — The barons of France 
take the cross — Proceed to Venice — Their difficulties — Turn to the 
siege of Zara — A change of purpose — Proceed to Constantinople—* 
Siege and taking of that city — Subsequent proceedings — A revolu- 
tion in Constantinople, Alexius deposed by Murzuphlis — Second 
siege and capture of the Greek capital — Flight of Murzuphlis— 
Plunder and outrage— Baldwin Count of Flanders elected emperor 262 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Divisions amongst the Moslems — Amongst the Christians— Crusade 
of children — Innocent III. declares he will lead a new crusade to 
Syria — The King of Hungary takes the cross — Arrives in Syria — 
Successes of the pilgrims — Abandon the siege of Mount Thabor — 
The King of Hungary returns to Europe — The Duke of Austria 
continues the war — Siege of Damietta — Reinforcements arrive 
under a legate — Famine in Damietta — The Moslems offer to yield 
Palestine— The legate's pride — He refuses — Taking of Damietta— 
The army advances towards Cairo— Overflowing of the Nile— The 
army ruined — The legate sues for peace — Generous conduct of the 
Sultaun — Marriage of the heiress of Jerusalem with Frederic, Em- 
peror of Germany— His disputes with the Pope — His treaties with 
the Saracens — He recovers Jerusalem — Quits the Holy Land — 
Disputes in Palestine — The Templars defeated and slaughtered — 
Gregory IX.— Crusade of the King of Navarre ineffectual — Cru- 
sade of Richard, Earl of Cornwall — Jerusalem recovered — The 
Corasmins — Their barbarity — They take Jerusalem — Defeat the 
Christians with terrible slaughter — Are exterminated by the 
Syrians — Crusade of St. Louis— His character — Arrives in the 
Holy Land — Takes Damietta — Battle of Massoura — Pestilence in 
the army— The King taken — Ransomed — Returns to Europe — 
Second crusade of St. Louis — Takes Carthage — His death — Crusade 
of Prince Edward — He defeats the Saracens — Wounded by an 
assassin — Returns to Europe — Successes of the Turks — Last siege 
and fall of Acre — Palestine lost ..... 285 

CHAPTER XV. 

Fate of the orders of the Temple and St. John — The Templars aban- 
don all hopes of recovering Jerusalem — Mingle in European po- 
litics — Offend Philip the Fair — Are persecuted — Charges against 
them — The order ^destroyed — The knights of St. John pursue the 
purpose of defending Christendom — Settle in Rhodes — Siege of 
Rhodes — Gallant defence — The island taken — The knights remove 
to Malta— Siege of Malta— La Valette— Defence of St. Elmo- 
Gallantry of the garrison — The whole Turkish army attempt to 
storm the castle — The attack repelled — Arrival of succour — The 
siege raised — Conclusion ...... 312 

Notes ..... .... 331 



HISTORY 

OF 

CHIVALRY AND THE CRUSADES. 



CHAPTER t 

A DEFINITION, WITH REMARKS AND EVIDENCE— AN INQUIRY INTO THE ORI- 
GIN OF CHIVALRY— VARIOUS OPINIONS ON THE SUBJECT— REASONS FOR 
DOUBTING THE GREAT ANTIQUITY OF CHIVALRY PROPERLY SO CALLED— 
THE STATE OF SOCIETY WHICH PRECEDED IT, AND OF THAT WHICH GAVE 
IT BIRTH— ITS ORIGIN AND EARLY PROGRESS, 

The first principles of whatever subject we may 
attempt to trace in history, are ever obscure, but few 
are so entirely buried in darkness, as the origin of 
Chivalry. This seems the more extraordinary, as we 
find the institution itself suddenly accompanied by 
regular and established forms, to which we can assign 
no precise date, and which appear to have been gene- 
rally acknowledged, before they were reduced to any 
written code. 

Although definitions are dangerous things — inas- 
much as the ambiguity of language rarely permits of 
perfect accuracy, except in matters of abstract science — ■ 
it is better, as far as possible, on all subjects of dis- 
cussion, to venture some clear and decided position, 
that the subsequent reasoning may be fixed upon a 
distinct and unchanging basis. 

If the position itself be wrong, it may be the more 

B 



2 HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 

speedily proved so from the very circumstance of stand- 
ing forth singly, uninvolved in a labyrinth of other 
matter ; and if it be right, the arguments that follow 
may always be more easily traced, and afford greater 
satisfaction by being deduced from a principle already 
determined. These considerations lead me to offer 
a definition of Chivalry, together with some remarks 
calculated to guard that definition from the conse- 
quences of misapprehension on the part of others, or 
of obscurity on my own. 

When I speak of Chivalry I mean a military insti- 
tution, prompted by enthusiastic benevolence, sanc- 
tioned by religion, and combined with religious cere- 
monies, the purpose of which was to protect the weak 
from the oppression of the powerful, and to defend 
the right cause against the wrong. . 

Its military character requires no proof ; but various 
mistaken opinions, which I shall notice hereafter, 
render it necessary to establish the fact, that religious 
ceremonies of some kind were always combined with 
the institutions of Chivalry. 

All those written laws and regulations affecting 
knighthood, 1 which were composed subsequent to its 
having taken an acknowledged form, prescribed, in the 
strictest manner, various points of religious ceremonial, 
which the aspirant to Chivalry was required to perform 
before he could be admitted into that high order. 

What preceded the regular recognition of Chivalry 
as an institution, is entirely traditional; yet in all 
the old romances, fabliaux, sirventes, ballads, &c, 
not one instance is to be found in which a squire 
becomes a knight, without some reference to his reli- 
gious faith. If he be dubbed in the battle-field, he 
swears to defend the right, and maintain all the sta- 
tutes of the noble order of Chivalry, upon the cross of 

1 La Fere Menestrier, Ordres de Chevalerie ; Jouvencel ; Favin 

Theatre. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



3 



his sword ; he calls heaven to witness his vow, and the 
saints to help him in its execution. Even in one of 
the most absurd fables 1 of the chivalrous ages, wherein 
we find Saladin himself receiving the order of Chivalry 
from the hands of the Count de Tabarie, that noble- 
man causes the infidel sultan to be shaved, and to 
bathe, as a symbol of baptism, and then to rest himself 
upon a perfumed bed, as a type of the repose and joy 
of Paradise. These tales are all fictitious it is true ; and 
few of them date earlier than the end of the twelfth cen- 
tury ; but at the same time, as they universally ascribe 
religious ceremonies to the order of knighthood, we 
have every reason to suppose that such ceremonies 
formed a fundamental part of the institution. 

Before proceeding to inquire into the origin of 
Chivalry, I must be permitted to make one more ob- 
servation in regard to my definition ; namely, that 
there was a great and individual character in that 
order, which no definition can fully convey. I mean 
the Spirit of Chivalry ; for, indeed, it was more a spirit 
than an institution; and the outward forms with which it 
soon became invested, were only, in truth, the signs by 
which it was conventionally agreed that those persons 
who had proved in their initiate they possessed the 
spirit, should be distinguished from the other classes 
of society. The ceremonial was merely the public 
declaration, that he on whom the order was conferred, 
was worthy to exercise the powers with which it in- 
vested him ; but still, the spirit was the Chivalry, 

In seeking the source of this order through the dark 
mazes of the history of modern Europe, it appears to 
me that many writers have mistaken the track; and, 
by looking for the mere external signs, have been led 
into ages infinitely prior to the spirit of Chivalry. 

Some have supposed that the institution descended 

1 Fabliau de Fordene de Chevalerie dans les fabliaux de Le 
Grand d'Aussi, 

B 2 



4 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



to more modern times, from the equestrian order of 
the ancient Romans ; but the absence of all but mere 
nominal resemblance between the two, has long placed 
this theory in the dusty catalogue of historical dreams. 

Others again have imagined that the Franks, and 
the rest of the German nations, who, on the fall of the 
Roman empire, subdued and divided Gaul, brought 
with them the seeds of Chivalry, which spontaneously 
grew up into that extraordinary plant which has flou- 
rished but once in the annals of the world. This 
opinion they support by citing the customs of the 
German tribes 1 who, not only at particular periods 
invested their youth with the shield and the javelin, 
but also (especially towards the period of the conquest 
of Gaul) chose from the bravest of the tribe a number 
of warriors, to be the companions and guards of the 
chief. These were termed Leudes, and we find them 
often mentioned under the whole of the first race of 
French kings. They served on horseback, while the 
greater part of each German nation fought on foot 
only ; and they were bound to the chief by an oath of 
fidelity. 2 The reception of an aspirant into the body 
of Leudes, was also marked with various ceremonies ; 
but in this, if we examine correctly, we find neither 
the spirit nor the forms of Chivalry. The oath of the 
Frank was one of service to; his prince ; that of the 
knight, to his God, and to society: the one pro- 
mised to defend his leader ;' the other to protect the 
oppressed, and to uphold the right. The Leudes were 
in fact the nobility of the German tribes, though that 
nobility was not hereditary ; but they were in no 
respect similar to the knights of an after age, except 
in the circumstance of fighting on horseback. 

A third opinion supposes the origin of Chivalry to 
be found amongst the ancient warlike tribes of North- 
men, or Normans, who, towards the ninth century, 



1 Tacit, de Mor. Germ. * Marculfus. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



5 



invaded in large bodies the southern parts of Europe, 
and established themselves principally in France ; and 
certainly both in their traditions, and even in their 
actions, as recorded by Abbon, an eyewitness to their 
deeds in the siege of Paris, there is to be found an 
energetic and romantic spirit, not unlike that which 
animated Chivalry at the rudest period of its existence. 
Still, there is much wanting. The great object of 
Chivalry, the defence of the weak, was absent, as well 
as every form and ceremony. The object of the 
Northman's courage was plunder; and all that he 
had in common with the knight was valour, contempt 
of death, and a touch of savage generosity, that threw 
but a faint light over his dark and stormy barbarities. 

Many persons again, have attributed the foundation 
of all the chivalrous institutions of Europe to the bright 
and magnificent reign of Charlemagne ; and, as this 
opinion has met with much support, amongst even the 
learned, it is worth while more particularly to inquire 
upon what basis it is raised. Of the reign of Char- 
lemagne, we have not so many authentic accounts 
as we have romances, founded upon the fame of that 
illustrious monarch. Towards the tenth, eleventh, 
and twelfth centuries, when Chivalry was in its imagi- 
native youth, a thousand tales of wild adventure were 
produced, in which Charlemagne and his warriors were 
represented with all the qualities and attributes of 
those knights, whose virtues and courage had by that 
time wrought deeply on the heart and fancy of the 
people. We should be as much justified, however, in 
believing that Virgil was a celebrated necromancer,- or 
that Hercules was a Preux Chevalier — characters 
which have been assigned to them by the very same 
class of fables — as in giving any credit to the dis- 
torted representations that those romances afford of 
the days of Charlemagne. 

In regard to the tales of King Arthur, I am per- 
fectly inclined to use the energetic words of Menestrier, 



6 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



who, in speaking of the famous knights of the round 
table, says without hesitation, " All that they tell of 
King Arthur and that fictitious Chivalry of which they 
represent him as the author, is nothing but a lie ;" 1 
for, though beyond all doubt the romances of Chivalry 
afford a great insight into the manners of the times 
wherein they were written, they are, nevertheless, 
quite worthless as authority concerning the ages which 
they pretend to display, and which had preceded their 
composition by nearly three centuries. 

After rejecting the evidences of such tales, we 
find nothing in the authentic records of Charlemagne 
which gives the slightest reason to suppose that Chivalry 
was known, even in its most infant state, during his 
reign. Though his great system of warfare had that 
in common with Chivalry, which all warfare must have 
— feats of daring courage, heroic valour, bursts of 
feeling and magnanimity, and as much of the sublime 
as mighty^ ambition, guided by mighty genius, and 
elevated by a noble object can achieve — yet the go- 
vernment of Charlemagne was in fact, any thing but a 
chivalrous government. Too powerful a hand held the 
reins of state, for Chivalry either to have been necessary 
or permitted ; and in reading the annals of Eginhard, 
his life of Charlemagne, or the account given by the 
Monk of St. Gall, we find a completely different charac- 
ter from that which is visible in every page of the history 
of the knightly ages. We find, indeed, that Charle- 
magne, according to the immemorial custom of his 
German 2 ancestors, solemnly invested his son Louis 
with the arms of a man. A thousand years before, in 
the forests of the North, his predecessors had done the 
same ; and Charlemagne, one of whose great objects 
ever was, to preserve both the habits and the language 
of the original country 3 free from amalgamation with 
those of the conquered nations, not only set the ex- 

1 Menestrier de la Chevalerie et ses preuves, page 230. 

2 Tacitus de Morib. German. 3 Eginhard Ann. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



7 



ample of publicly receiving his son into the ranks of 
manhood and warfare, but strictly enjoined that the 
same should be done by his various governors in the 
provinces. But this custom of the Franks, as I have 
before attempted to show, had no earthly relation to 
knighthood. Were nothing else a proof that Chivalry 
was perfectly unknown in the days of Charlemagne, 
it would be sufficient that the famous capitularies 
of that monarch, which regulate every thing that can 
fall under the eye of the law, even to the details of 
private life, make no mention whatever of an institu- 
tion which afterwards exercised so great an influence 
on the fate of Europe. Nor can we trace in the annals 
of the surrounding countries, a mark of Chivalry 
having been known at that period to any other nation 
more than to the Franks. Alfred, it is true, invested 
Athelstan with a purple garment and a sword ; but 
the Saxons were from Germany as well as the Franks, 
and no reason exists for supposing that this ceremony 
was in any degree connected with the institutions of 
Chivalry. There have been persons, indeed, who sup- 
posed that Pharaoh conferred knighthood upon Joseph, 
when he bestowed upon him the ring and the golden 
chain, and probably the Egyptian king had fully as 
much knowledge of the institution of Chivalry as either 
Charlemagne or Alfred. 

Of the annals that follow the period of Charlemagne, 
those of Nithard, Hincmar, and Thegan, together with 
those called the Annals of St. Bertinus and of Metz, are 
the most worthy of credit ; and in these, though we 
often meet with the word miles, which was afterwards 
the name bestowed upon a knight, it is used simply in 
the signification of a soldier, or one of the military 
race. 1 No mention whatever is made of any thing that 
can fairly be looked upon as chivalrous, either in feel- 
ing or institution. All is a series of dark conflicts and 



1 See note I. 



8 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



bloodthirsty contentions, amongst which the sprouts 
of the feudal system, yet young and unformed, are seen 
springing up from seed sown long before. In the 
picture of those times, a double darkness seemed to 
cover the earth, which, a chaos of unruly passions, 
showed no one general institution for the benefit of 
mankind, except the Christian religion; and that — 
overwhelmed by foul superstitions and guarded chiefly 
by barbarous, ignorant, selfish, and disorderly priests, 
lay like a treasure hidden by a miser, and watched by 
men that had not soul to use it. This was no age of 
knighthood. 

Up to this period, then, I fully believe that Chivalry 
did not exist ; and having attempted to show upon 
some better ground than mere assertion, that the theo- 
ries which assign to it an earlier origin are wrong, I 
will now give my own view of its rise, which possibly 
may be as erroneous as the rest. 

Charlemagne expired like a meteor that having 
broken suddenly upon the night of ages, and blazed 
brilliantly over a whole world for a brief space, fell 
and left all in darkness, even deeper than before. His 
dominions divided into petty kingdoms — his successors 
waging long and inveterate wars against each other — 
the nations he had subdued shaking off the yoke — 
the enemies he had conquered avenging themselves 
upon his descendants — the laws he had established 
forgotten or annulled — the union he had cemented 
scattered to the wind — in a lamentably brief space 
of time, the bright order which his great mind 
had established throughout Europe was dissolved. 
Each individual, who either by corporeal strength, ad- 
vantageous position, wealth, or habit, could influence 
the minds of others, snatched at that portion of the 
divided empire which lay nearest to his means, and 
claimed that power as a gift which had only been 
intrusted as a loan. The custom of holding lands by 
military service had come down to the French from 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



9 



their German ancestors, and the dukes, the marquises, 
the counts, as well as a whole herd of inferior officers, 
who in former days had led the armies, or commanded 
in the provinces as servants of the crown, now arro- 
gated to themselves hereditary rights in the charges 
with which they had been intrusted ; and, in their own 
behalf, claimed the feudal service of those soldiers to 
whom lands had been granted, instead of preserving 
their allegiance for their sovereigns. The weak mo- 
narchs, who still retained the name of kings, engaged 
in ruinous wars with each other and in vain attempts to 
repel the invasions of the Northmen or Normans, first 
tolerated these encroachments, because they had at 
the time no power of resisting, and then gradually re- 
cognised them as rights, upon the condition that those 
who committed them should assist the sovereign in his 
wars, and acknowledge his title in preference to that 
of any of his competitors. 

Thus gradually rose the feudal system from the 
wrecks of Charlemagne's great empire. But still all was 
unstable and unconfirmed; the limits of the different 
powers in the state undecided and variable, till the 
war of Paris, the incompetence of the successors of 
Charlemagne, and the elevation of Hugues Capet, the 
Count of Paris, to the throne, showed the barons the 
power they had acquired, and crowned the feudal 
compact by the creation of a King, whose title was 
found in it alone. 

Great confusion, however, existed still. The authority 
of the sovereign extended but a few leagues round the 
city of Paris ; the Normans ravaged the coast ; the 
powerful and the wicked had no restraint imposed upon 
their actions, and the weak were every where oppressed 
and wronged. Bands of plunderers raged through the 
whole of France and Germany, property was held by 
the sword, cruelty and injustice reigned alone, and the 
whole history of that age offers a complete medley of 
massacre, bloodshed, torture, crime, and misery. 



10 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



Personal courage, however, had been raised to the 
highest pitch by the very absence of every thing like 
security. Valour was a necessity and a habit, and 
Eudes and his companions, who defended Paris against 
the Normans, would have come down as demigods to the 
present day, if they had but possessed a Homer to sing 
their deeds. The very Normans themselves, with their 
wild enthusiasm and supernatural daring, their poeti- 
cal traditions, and magnificent superstitions, seemed 
to bring a new and extraordinary light into the very 
lands they desolated. The plains teemed with murder, 
and the rivers flowed with blood ; but the world was 
weary of barbarity, and a reacting spirit of order was 
born from the very bosom of confusion. 

It was then that some poor nobles, probably suffer- 
ing themselves from the oppression of more powerful 
lords, but at the same time touched with sincere 
compassion for the wretchedness they saw around 
them, first leagued together with the holy purpose of 
redressing wrongs and defending the weak. 1 They 
gave their hands to one another in pledge that they 
would not turn back from the work, and called upon 
St. George to bless their righteous cause. The church 
readily yielded its sanction to an institution so noble, 
aided it with prayers, and sanctified it with a solemn 
blessing. Religious enthusiasm became added to 
noble indignation and charitable zeal ; and the spirit 
of Chivalry, like the flame struck forth from the hard 
steel and the dull flint, was kindled into sudden light 
by the savage cruelty of the nobles, and the heavy 
barbarity of the people. 

The spirit spread rapidly, and the adoration of the 
populace, who almost deified their heroic defenders, 
gave both fresh vigour and purity to the design. Every 
moral virtue became a part of knightly honour, and the 
men whose hands were ever ready to draw the sword 



Charles Nodier on St. Palaye. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



II 



in defence of innocence — who in their own conduct 
set the most brilliant example — whose sole object was 
the establishment of right, and over whom no earthly- 
fear or interested consideration held sway, were readily- 
recognised as judges and appealed to as arbitrators. 
Public opinion raised them above all other men, even 
above kings themselves ; so much so, indeed, that we 
find continually repeated, in the writings of the chi- 
valrous ages, such passages as the following : 

Chevaliers sont de moult grant pris, 
lis ont de tous gens le pris, 
Et le los et le seignorie. 

Thus gradually Chivalry became no longer a simple 
engagement between a few generous and valiant men, 
but took the form of a great and powerful institution ; 
and, as each knight had the right of creating others 
without limit, it became necessary that the new class 
thus established in society, should be distinguished by 
particular signs and symbols, which would guard it 
against the intrusion of unworthy or disgraceful mem- 
bers. 

The time at which fixed regulations first distinguish- 
ed Chivalry from every other order in the state, cannot 
be precisely determined ; certainly it was not before 
the eleventh century. Then, however, it is probable, 
that this was done more from a general sense of its 
necessity, and by slow and irregular degrees, than by 
any one law or agreement. Every thing in that age 
was confusion, and though the spirit of Chivalry had 
for its great object the restoration of order, it is not 
likely that its own primary efforts should be very regu- 
lar, amidst a chaos of contending interests and un- 
bridled passions, which rendered general communica- 
tion or association difficult, if not impossible. Each 
knight, in admitting another to the noble order of 
which he himself was a member, probably added some 
little formality as he thought fit, till the mass of these 



12 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



customs collected by tradition, formed the body of their 
ceremonial law. 

The first point required of the aspirants to Chivalry 
in its earliest state, was certainly a solemn vow, " To 
speak the truth, to succour the helpless and oppressed, 
and never to turn back from an enemy " l 

This vow, combined with the solemn appeal to Hea- 
ven in witness thereof, was the foundation of Chivalry ; 
but, at the same time we find that in all ages, only 
one class of people was eligible to furnish members to 
the institution ; namely, the military class, or in other 
words, the northern conquerors of the soil ; for, with very 
few exceptions, the original inhabitants of Europe had 
been reduced to the condition of serfs, or slaves of the 
glebe. Some few, indeed, had held out till they forced the 
invaders to permit their being incorporated with them- 
selves upon more equal terms, but this was very rare, and 
the race rustique, as it was called, though it furnished 
archers to the armies, was kept distinct from the mili- 
tary race by many a galling difference. This lower race, 
then, could not be invested with the honours of Chi- 
valry ; and one of the first provisions we find in any 
written form, respecting the institution of knighthood, 
is designed to mark this more particularly. Ad mill- 
tarem honorem nullus accedat qui non sit de genere 
militum, says a decree of the twelfth century. AVe 
may therefore conclude that this was the first requi- 
site, and the vow the first formality of Chivalry. 

It is more than probable, that the ceremony, next 
in historical order, attached to the admission of an 
aspirant into the ranks of knighthood, was that of pub- 
licly arming him with the weapons he was to use, in 
pursuance of his vow. This is likely from many circum- 
stances. In the first place, to arm him for the cause was 
naturally the next proceeding to his vowing himself to 
that cause, and also by his receiving those arms in the 



1 Ordene de Chevalerie Fabliaux. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



13 



face of the public, the new defender that the people had 
gained became known to the people, and thus no one 
would falsely pretend to the character of a knight, 
without risking detection. In the second place, as I 
have before said, the arming of the German youth had 
been from the earliest ages, like the delivery of the 
virile robe to young Romans, an occasion of public 
solemnity ; and it was therefore natural that it should 
be soon incorporated with the ceremonial of the new 
military institution, which now took the lead of all 
others. 

The church of course added her part to secure re- 
verence for an order which was so well calculated to 
promote all the objects of religion, and vigils, fasts, 
and prayers, speedily became a part of the initiation to 
knighthood. Power is ever followed by splendour and 
display ; but, to use the energetic words of a learned 
and talented writer of the present day, 1 the knights for 
long after the first institution of Chivalry, were " simple 
in their clothing, austere in their morals, humble 
after victory, firm under misfortune." 

In France, I believe, the order first took its rise ; and, 
probably, the disgust felt by some pure minds at the 
gross and barbarous licentiousness of the times, in- 
fused that virtuous severity into the institutions of 
Chivalry which was in itself a glory. If we may give the 
least credit to the picture of the immorality and luxury 
of the French, as drawn by Abbon in his poem on the 
siege of Paris, no words will be found sufficient to ex- 
press our admiration for the men who first undertook to 
combat, not only the tyranny but the vices of their age ; 
who singly went forth to war against crime, injustice, 
and cruelty ; who defied the whole world in defence 
of innocence, virtue, and truth ; who stemmed the tor- 
rent of barbarity and evil ; and who, from the wrecks 
of ages, and the ruins of empires, drew out a thousand 

1 Charles Nodier. 



14 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



jewels to glitter in the star that shone upon the breast 
of knighthood. 

For long the Christian religion had struggled alone, 
a great but shaded light through the storms of dark 
and barbarous ages. Till Chivalry arose there was 
nothing to uphold it; but from that moment, with a 
champion in the field to lead forth the knowledge that 
had been imprisoned in the cloister, the influence of 
religion began to spread and increase. Though worldly 
men thereunto attached the aggrandizement of their 
own temporal power, and knaves and villains made it 
the means of their avarice, or the cloak of their vice, 
still the influence of the divine truth itself gradually 
wrought upon the hearts of men, purifying, calming, 
refining, till the world grew wise enough to separate 
the perfection of the gospel, from the weakness of its 
teachers, and to reject the errors while they restrained 
the power of the Roman church. 

In the mean time, Chivalry stood forth the most 
glorious institution that man himself ever devised. In 
its youth and in its simplicity it appeared grand and 
beautiful, both from its own intrinsic excellence, and 
from its contrast with the things around. In its after 
years it acquired pomp and luxury ; and to pomp and 
luxury, naturally succeeded decay and death ; but 
still the legacy that it left behind it to posterity, was a 
treasure of noble feelings and generous principles. 

There cannot be a doubt that Chivalry, more than 
any other institution (except religion) aided to work 
out the civilization of Europe. It first taught devotion 
and reverence to those weak, fair beings, who but in 
their beauty and their gentleness have no defence. It 
first raised love above the passions of the brute, and 
by dignifying woman, made woman worthy of love. It 
gave purity to enthusiasm, crushed barbarous selfish- 
ness, taught the heart to expand like a flower to the 
sunshine, beautified glory with generosity, and smoothed 
even the rugged brow of war. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



15 



For the mind, as far as knowledge went, Chivalry 
itself did little ; but by its influence it did much. 
For the heart it did every thing ; and there is scarcely 
a noble feeling or a bright aspiration that we find 
amongst ourselves, or trace in the history of modern 
Europe, that is not in some degree referrible to that 
great and noble principle, which has no name but the 
Spirit of Chivalry. 



16 



HISTORT OP CHIVALRY. 



CHAPTER II. 



OP CHIVALROUS CUSTOMS— EDUCATION— GRADES—SERVICES ON THE RECEP- 
TION OF A KNIGHT— ON TOURNAMENTS— JOUSTS— COMBATS AT OUTRANCE 
—PASSAGES OF ARMS— THE ROUND TABLE— PRIVILEGES OF KNIGHTHOOD 
— DUTIES OF KNIGHTHOOD. 

Although the customs which I am about to detail 
at once, grew gradually up under the various circum- 
stances of different centuries, and were for the most 
part unknown to the infancy of Chivalry, I think it 
right to notice here the principal peculiarities of the 
institution, rather than to interrupt the course of my 
narrative afterwards, when the history of knighthood 
may be traced continuously down to its final ex- 
tinction. 

We have already seen that each individual member 
of the order possessed the power of admitting any 
other person to its honours without restraint ; but it 
did not by any means follow that all previous trial and 
education was dispensed with. Very soon after the 
first institution of Chivalry, every one became covetous 
of the distinction, and it naturally followed that the 
object of each boy's aspirations, the aim of every young 
man's ambition, was one day to be a knight. Those, 
however, who had already received the order, were 
scrupulously careful to admit none within its fellow- 
ship who might disgrace the sword that dubbed them ; 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



17 



and knighthood gradually became as much the re- 
ward of a long and tedious education, as the bonnet 
of the doctor or the stole of the clerk. 

The feudal system had now reached its acme ; and 
each individual lord, within his own domain, assumed 
the state and importance of a prince. With the vain 
spirit of ostentatious imitation, which unhappily is 
common to all climes and all centuries, the great feu- 
datories of the crown copied the household of the 
sovereign, and the petty barons imitated them. Each 
had his crowd of officers and squires, and pages, 
and varlets. Even the monasteries and the abbeys 
affected the same pomp and ceremonial, so that we 
find the abbot of St. Denis riding 1 forth accom- 
panied by his chamberlain and marshal, whose offices 
were held as feofs. 

The manor or the castle of each feudal chieftain, 
however, soon became the school of Chivalry, and 
any noble youth, whose parents were either dead or too 
poor to educate him to the art of war, was willingly 
received in the dwelling of a neighbouring baron, who 
took care that his pupil should be instructed in all 
military exercises, glad to attach to his own person as 
large a body of armed retainers as his circumstances 
would permit. 

Till they reached the age of seven years the youths, 
afterwards destined to arms, were left to the care of 
the females of the household, who taught them the 
first principles of religion and of Chivalry. They 
were then in general sent from home, those fathers even, 
who possessed the means of conducting their educa- 
tion themselves, preferring to intrust it to some other 
noble knight who could be biassed 2 by no parental ten- 
derness to spare the young aspirant to Chivalry any 
of those trials and hardships absolutely necessary to 
prepare him for his after career. 

Felibien, Hist. St. Denis, 2 Coutumes de Beauroisis. 
c 



18 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



On entering the household of another knight, the 
first place filled by the youths, then fresh from all the 
soft kindnesses of home, was that of page or varlet, 
which, though it implied every sort of attendance on 
the person of their new lord, was held as honourable, 
not degrading. 

Here they still remained 1 much amongst the women 
of the family, who undertook to complete their know- 
ledge of their duty to God and their lady, instilling 
into their infant minds that refined and mystic idea of 
love, which was so peculiar a trait in the Chivalry of 
old. In the mean while the rest of their days were 
passed in the service of their lord, accompanying him 
in his excursions, serving him at table, pouring out 
his drink ; all of which offices being shared in by the 
children and young relations of the baron himself, 2 
were reckoned, as I have said, highly honourable, and 
formed the first step in the ascent to Chivalry. 

At the same time infinite pains were bestowed upon 
the education of these pages. They were taught all 
sorts of gymnastic exercises which could strengthen 
the body ; and, by continually mingling with the 
guests of the castle, receiving them on their arrival, 
offering them every sort of service, and listening re- 
spectfully to the conversation of their elders, they 
acquired that peculiar grace of manner which, under 
the name of courtesy, formed a principal perfection in 
the character of the true knight. 

At fourteen the page was usually admitted to the 
higher grade of squire, and exchanged his short dag- 
ger for the manly sword. This, however, was made a 
religious ceremony ; and the weapon which he was in 
future to wear, was laid upon the altar, from whence 
it was taken by the priest, 3 and after several benedic- 
tions, was hung over the shoulder of the new squire, 
with many a sage caution and instruction as to its use. 



St. Palaye. 2 Vie de Bayard. s^Favin Theatre. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



19 



His exercises now became more robust than they 
had ever been before ; and, if we are to believe the old 
biographer of the celebrated Boucicaut, they were far 
more fatiguing than any man of the present age could 
endure. To spring upon horseback armed at all pieces, 
without putting a foot in the stirrup ; to cast somersets 
in heavy armour 1 for the purpose of strengthening the 
arms ; to leap upon the shoulders of a horseman 
from behind, without other hold than one hand laid 
upon his shoulder — such, and many others, were the 
daily exercises of the young noble, besides regular in- 
struction in riding and managing his arms. Though it 
would seem at first that few constitutions could undergo 
for any length of time such violent exertions, we must 
remember the effects produced — we must call to mind 
that these very men in their afterlife, are found bearing 
a weight, that few persons of the present times could 
lift, through the heat of a whole summer's day, under 
the burning suns of Palestine. We must remember 
the mighty feats of strength that these men per- 
formed ; and, when we see a Boemond fighting from 
noon to sunset cased from head to foot in thick iron, 
or in long after days a Guise swimming against a tor- 
rent armed cap-a-pie, we must naturally conclude that 
no ordinary course of training could produce such 
vigour and hardihood. 

Several degrees of squires, or esquires, are mentioned 
in the ancient chronicles ; and it is difficult to distin- 
guish which class included the young noble — which was 
filled by an inferior race. That there was a distinction 
is evident; for in the life of Bayard 2 we find an old 
squire mentioned more than once, from whom he re- 
ceived instructions, but who never appears to have 
aspired to any higher degree. Nevertheless it is equally 
certain that many services which we should consider 

1 Vie de Boucicaut, Coll. Pelitot et Momerque. 

2 Vie de Bayard.^ 

c 2 



20 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



menial, were performed by the squires of the highest 
race about the persons of their lords. Nor was this 
confined to what might be considered military ser- 
vices, for we learn that they not only held the stirrup 
for their lord to mount, and then followed, carrying his 
helm, his lance, his shield, or his gauntlets ; but they 
continued to serve him at table, to clean his armour, 
to dress his horses, and to fulfil a thousand other avo- 
cations, in which they were aided, it is true, by the 
gros varlets or common servants, but which they still 
had their share in accomplishing with their own hands. 1 
The highest class of esquires, however, was evidently 
the ecuyer d'honneur, who, from the manner of Frois- 
sart's mention of many at the court of the Count de 
Foix, appears to have had in charge the reception and 
entertainment of guests and strangers. 

The squires of course had often more important'duties 
to perform. It was for them to follow their lords to the 
battle-field ; and, while the knights, formed in a long 
line, fought hand to hand against their equals, the 
squires remained watching eagerly the conflict, and 
ready to drag their master from the melee, to cover 
him if he fell, to supply him with fresh arms, and in 
short, to lend him every aid ; without, however, pre- 
suming to take an active part against the adverse 
knights, with whose class it was forbidden for a squire 
to engage. 

St. Palaye limits to these defensive operations the 
services of the squires in the field of battle ; 2 and it is 
possible that the strict laws of Chivalry might justify 
such a restriction. Nevertheless there can be no 
earthly doubt that they were often much more actively 
engaged, even in the purest days of Chivalry. In all 
the wars between Richard Cosur de Lion, and Philip 
Augustus, 3 we find them often fighting bravely ; and 

1 Froissart. 2 St. Palaye, liv. i. 

3 Guillaume Guiart, ; Guill, Amoric. j Rigord ; Philipeid. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



21 



at the battle of Bovines, a squire had nearly taken the 
life of the famous Count de Boulogne. 

These services in the field perfected the aspirant to 
Chivalry in the knowledge of his profession ; and the 
trials of skill which, on the day that preceded a tourna- 
ment, were permitted to squires, in the lists, gave him 
an opportunity of distinguishing himself in the eyes of 
the people, and of gaining a name amongst the heralds 
and chroniclers of knightly deeds. 

If a noble squire had conducted himself well during 
the period of his service, it seldom occurred that his 
lord refused to bestow upon him the honour of knight- 
hood at the age of twenty-one; and sometimes, if he 
had been distinguished by any great or gallant feat, or 
by uniform talent and courage, 1 he was admitted into the 
order before he had reached that age. This, neverthe- 
less, was rare, except in the case of sovereign princes ; 
and on the contrary it occasionally happened that a 
knight, who did not choose to part so soon with a fa- 
vourite squire, would delay on various pretences a ce- 
remony which almost always caused some separation 
between the young knight and his ancient master. 2 

The squire, however, had always the right to claim 
the knighthood from the hand of another, if his lord 
unjustly refused to bestow it ; and that high sense of 
honour, which was their great characteristic, prevented 
the knights thus applied to from ever refusing, when 
the aspirant was fully justified in his claim. 

The times chosen for conferring knighthood were ge- 
nerally either those of great military ceremony, 5 as after 
tournaments, cours plenieres, the muster or monstre y 
as it was called of the army, or on days consecrated 
by the church to some peculiar solemnity, as Easter- 
day, the day of Pentecost, or even Christmas-day. 4 

This was, nevertheless, by no means imperative, for 

1 Brantome. 2 See note II. 

5 Charles Nodier's Annotations on St. Palaye. 

4 Ducange, Dissert, xxii. Menestrier, chap. 2 ; St. Palaye. 



22 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



we have already seen that knighthood was often con- 
ferred on any particular emergency, and even on 
the field of battle. 1 On these occasions the forms 
were of course abridged to suit the necessity of the 
case, but the knighthood was not the less valid or 
esteemed* 

The more public and solemn the ceremony could be 
made the more it appeared to the taste of the nobles 
of the middle ages. Nor was the pomp and display 
without its use, raising and dignifying the order in 
the eyes of the people, and impressing deeply upon 
the mind of the young knight the duties which he 
had voluntarily taken upon himself. We ail know 
how much remembrance depends upon external 
circumstance, and it is ever well to give our feelings 
some fixed resting-place in the waste of life, that in 
after yeajs memory may lead us back and refresh the 
resolutions and bright designs of youth by the aid of 
the striking scenes and solemn moments in which those 
designs and resolutions were first called into activity. 
Nothing could be better calculated to make a profound 
impression on the mind than the ceremonies of a 
knight's reception in the mature times of Chivalry. 

On the day appointed, 2 all the knights and nobles, 
at that time in the city, where the solemnity was to be 
performed, with the bishops and clergy, each covered 
with the appropriate vestments of his order, the knight 
in his coat-of-arms, and the bishop in his stole, con- 
ducted the aspirant to the principal church of the 
place. There, after the high mass had been chanted, 
the novice approached the altar and presented the 
sword to the bishop or priest, who taking it from his 
hand blessed and consecrated it to the service of reli- 
gion and virtue. 

It often happened that the bishop himself then so- 

* Roman de Gar in, Fabliaux, vol. ii. 
2 Menestrier, chap. 2, and 9. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



23 



lemnly warned the youth of the difficulties and requi- 
sites of the order to which he aspired. " He who 
seeks to be a knight" — said the Bishop of Valenciennes 
to the young Count of Ostrevant on one of these occa- 
sions, 1 \ u He who wishes to be a knight should have 
great qualities. He must be of noble birth, liberal in 
gifts, high in courage, strong in danger, secret in 
council, patient in difficulties, powerful against ene- 
mies, prudent in his deeds. He must also swear to" 
observe the following rules : 1 To undertake nothing 
without having heard mass fasting ; to spare neither 
his blood nor his life in defence, of the Catholic faith ; 
to give aid to all widows and orphans ; to undertake 
no war without just cause ; to favour no injustice, but 
to protect the innocent and oppressed ; to be humble 
in all things ; to seek the welfare of those placed 
under him ; never to violate the rights of his sove- 
reign, and to live irreprehensibly before God and man." 

The bishop then taking his joined hands in his own 
placed them on the missal, and received his oath to 
follow the statutes laid down to him, after which his 
father advancing dubbed him a knight. 

At other times it occurred that, when the sword 
had been blessed, the novice 2 carried it to the knight 
who was to be his godfather in Chivalry, and kneeling 
before him plighted his vow to him. After this the 
other knights, and often the ladies present, advanced, 
and completely armed the youth, sometimes beginning 
with one piece of the armour, sometimes another. St. 
Palaye declares that the spurs were always buckled on 
before the rest, but in the history of Geoffrey, Duke 
of Normandy, we find the corslet and the greaves men- 
tioned first, and the spear and sword last. 

After having been armed, the novice still remained 
upon his knees before his godfather in arms, who then 

1 Menestrier, chap. 9. 2 St. Palaye. 



24 



HISTOP.Y OF CHIVALRY. 



rising from his seat bestowed upon him the accolade, 
as it was called, which consisted generally of three 
blows of the naked sword upon the neck or shoulder. 
Sometimes it was performed by a blow given with the 
palm of the hand upon the cheek of the novice, which 
was always accompanied by some words, signifying 
that the ceremony was complete, and the squire had 
now become a knight. 

The words which accompanied the accolade were 
generally, when the kings of France bestowed the 
honour, " In the name of God, St. Michael, and St. 
George, I make thee knight ; be loyal, bold, and true." 

Sometimes to the blow were joined the words, 1 
" Bear this blow and never bear another," and some- 
times was added the more Christian admonition to 
humility, " Remember that the Saviour of the world 
was buffeted and scoffed. " 2 

Whatever was its origin the custom was a curious 
one, and bore a strong resemblance to the ceremony of 
manumission amongst the Romans, who, on freeing a 
slave, struck him a slight blow, which Claudian happily 
enough terms felicem injuriam. I do not, however, 
intend to insinuate that the one custom was derived 
from the other, though, perhaps, the fact of a serf 
becoming free if his lord struck him with any instru- 
ment, 8 except such as were employed in his actual 
labour, may have been, in some degree, a vestige of 
the Roman law in this respect, which w T e know de- 
scended entire to many of the barbarous nations. 

However that may be, after having submitted to 
the blow which ended his servitude as a squire, the 
new knight was decorated with his casque, which 
had hitherto been held beside him, and then pro- 
ceeding to the door of the church, or of the castle, 

1 Hartknoch, lib. ii. c. 1. 

2 Existing Orders of Knighthood. 8 Cappefigue. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



25 



where his knighthood had been bestowed, he sprang 
upon his horse and showed himself armed in the 
principal places of the city, while the heralds pro- 
claimed his name and vaunted his prowess. 1 

As long vigils, fast, prayers, and confessions, had 
preceded and accompanied the admission of the new 
knight, festivals, banquets, and tournaments followed. 2 
The banquets and the festivals, as common to all ages, 
though differing in each, I will pass over : suffice it, that 
one of the strictest laws of Chivalry forbade gluttony 
and intemperance. 

The tournament, as a purely chivalrous institution, 
I must mention ; though so much has been already 
written on the subject, that I could have wished to 
pass it over in silence. The most complete descrip- 
tion ever given of a tournament is to be found in the 
writings of one whose words are pictures ; and 
if I dared but copy into this place the account of the 
passage of arms in Ivanhoe, I should be enabled to 
give a far better idea of what such a scene really was, 
than all the antiquarian researches in my power will 
afford. 

All military nations, from the earliest antiquity, 
have known and practised various athletic games in 
imitation of warfare ; and we of course find amongst 
the Franks various exercises of the kind from the very 
first records which we have of that people. Nithard, 3 
however, gives an elaborate picture of these mock- 
fights as practised in the reigns succeeding Charle- 
magne ; and we find but little resemblance to the 
tournament. Four equal bands of Saxons, Gascons, 
Austrasians, and Armoricans (or Britons, 4 as they are 
there called) met together in an open place, and, while 
the populace stood round as spectators, pursued each 
other, in turn, brandishing their arms, and seeming 

1 Menestrier, ix. ; St. Palaye. 2 Adre Favin Theat. 

3 Nithard, lib. iii. 4 Britannarum is the word. 



26 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



fiercely to seek the destruction of their adversaries. 
When this had proceeded for some time, Louis and 
Charles (the two monarchs in whose history the de- 
scription is given) suddenly rushed into the field with 
all their choice companions, and, with quivering lances 
and loud cries, followed, now one, now another, of the 
parties, who took care to fly before their horses. 

The first authentic mention of a tournament 1 is to be 
found in the Chronicle of Tours, which records the 
death of Geoffrey de Priuli in 1066 ; adding the words 
qui torneamenta invenit — who invented tournaments. 
From the appearance 2 of these exercises in Germany, 3 
about the same time, we may conclude that this date 
is pretty nearly correct ; and that if tournaments were 
not absolutely invented at that precise period, they 
were then first regulated by distinct laws. 

In England 4 they did not appear till several years 
later, when the Norman manners introduced after the 
conquest had completely superseded the customs of 
the Saxons. 

Thus much has seemed necessary to me to say con- 
cerning the origin of tournaments, as there are so 
many common fables on the subject which give far 
greater antiquity to the exercise than that which it is 
entitled to claim. 

The ceremonies and the splendour of the tournament 
of course differed in different ages and different coun- 
tries ; but the general principle was the same. It was 
a chivalrous game, originally instituted for practising 
those exercises, and acquiring that skill which was 
likely to be useful in knightly warfare. 

A tournament was usually given upon the occasion 
of any great meeting, for either military or political 

1 Ducange apud Chron. Tur. an. 1066. 

2 Munster. Geogr. lib. iii. 

3 Ducange, in his sixth dissertation, has satisfactorily over- 
turned the assertion made by Modius, that tournaments were 
known in Germany at a much earlier period than here stated. 

4 Ducange, Dissert, vii. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



27 



purposes. Sometimes it was the king himself who 
sent his heralds through the land to announce to all 
noblemen and ladies, that on a certain day he would 
hold a grand tournament, where all brave knights 
might try their prowess. At other times a tournament 
was determined on by a body of independent knights; 
and messengers were often sent into distant countries 
to invite all gallant gentlemen to honour the passage 
of arms. 

The spot fixed upon for the lists was usually in the 
immediate neighbourhood of some abbey or castle, 
where the shields of the various 1 cavaliers who purposed 
combating were exposed to view for several days pre- 
vious to the meeting. A herald was also placed be- 
neath the cloisters to answer all questions concerning 
the champions, and to receive all complaints against 
any individual knight. If, upon investigation, the 
kings of arms and judges of the field found that a just 
accusation was laid against one 2 of the knights pro- 
posing to appear, a peremptory command excluded 
him from the lists ; and if he dared in despite thereof 
to present himself, he was driven forth with blows and 
ignominy. 

Round about the field appointed for the spectacle 
were raised galleries, scaffoldings, tents, 3 and pavilions, 
decorated with all the magnificence of a luxurious a°;e. 
Banners and scutcheons, and bandrols ; silks and 
cloth of gold, covered the galleries and floated round 
the field ; while all that rich garments and precious 
stones, beauty and youth, could do to outshine the 
inanimate part of the scene, was to be found amongst 
the spectators. Here too was seen the venerable age 
of Chivalry — all those old knights whose limbs were 
no longer competent to bear the weight of arms, sur- 
rounding the field to view the prowess of their children 
and judge the deeds of the day. Heralds and pur- 



1 Menestrier Origine. 



2 Favin Theatre. 



3 St. Palaye. 



28 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



suivants, in the gay and many-coloured garments 
which they peculiarly affected, fluttered over the field, 
and bands of warlike music were stationed near to 
animate the contest and to salute the victors. 

The knights, as they appeared in the lists, were 
greeted by the heralds and the people 1 according to 
their renown ; but the approbation of the female part 
of the spectators was the great stimulus to all the 
Chivalry of the field. Each knight, as a part of his 
duty, either felt or feigned himself in love ; and it was 
upon these occasions that his lady might descend from 
the high state to which the mystic adoration of the day 
had raised her, and bestow upon her favoured cham- 
pion a glove, a ribbon, a bracelet, 2 a jewel, which, 
borne on his crest through the hard-contested field, 
was the chief object of his care, and the great excite- 
ment to his valour. 

Often, too, in the midst of the combat, if accident 
or misfortune deprived the favoured knight of the gage 
of his lady's affection, her admiration or her pity won 
her to supply another token, sent by a page or squire, 
to raise again her lover's resolution, and animate him 
to new exertions. 

The old romance of Perce-forest gives a curious 
picture of the effects visible after a tournament, by 
the eagerness with which the fair spectators had 
encouraged the knights. " At the close of the 
tournament, " says the writer, "the ladies were so 
stripped of their ornaments, that the greater part of 
them were bareheaded. Thus they went their ways 
with their hair floating on their shoulders more glossy 
than fine gold ; and with their robes without the sleeves, 
for they had given to the knights to decorate them- 
selves, wimples and hoods, mantles and shifts, sleeves 
and bodies. When they found themselves undressed 
to such a pitch, they were at first quite ashamed ; but 



1 St. Palaye. 



Vie de Bayard. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



29 



as soon as they saw every one was in the same state, 
they began to laugh at the whole adventure, for they 
had all bestowed their jewels and their clothes upon 
the knights with so good a will, that they had not per- 
ceived that they uncovered themselves." 

This is probably an exaggerated account of the en- 
thusiasm which the events of a tournament excited in 
the bosom of the fair ladies of that day : but still, no 
doubt can be entertained, that they not only decorated 
their knights before the tournament with some token of 
their approbation, but in the case of its loss, often sent 
him even a part of their dress in the midst of the con- 
flict. 

The other spectators, also, though animated by less 
thrilling interests, took no small share in the feelings 
and hopes of the different parties. Each blow of the 
lance or sword, struck well and home, was greeted 
with loud acclamations ; and valour met with both its 
incitement and its reward, in the expecting silence 
and the thundering plaudits with which each good 
champion's movements were waited for and seen. 

In the mean while, without giving encouragement to 
any particular knight, the heralds strove to animate 
all by various quaint and characteristic exclamations, 
such as " The love of ladies !" " Death to the horses!" 
" Honour to the brave V " Glory to be won by blood 
and sweat !" " Praise to the sons of the brave !" 

It would occupy too much space to enter into all the 
details of the tournament, or to notice all the laws by 
which it was governed. Every care was taken that 
the various knights should meet upon equal terms ; 
and many a precaution was made use of to prevent ac- 
cidents, and to render the sports both innocent and 
useful. But no regulations could be found sufficient 
to guard against the dangerous consequences of such 
furious amusements ; and Ducange gives a long list 
of princes and nobles who lost their lives in these 
fatal exercises. The church often interfered, though 



so 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



in vain, to put them down ; and many monarchs for- 
bade them in their dominions ; but the pomp with 
which they were accompanied, and the excitement that 
they afforded to a people fond of every mental stimu- 
lus, rendered them far more permanent than might 
have been expected. 

The weapons in tournaments were in almost all 
cases restrained to blunted swords and headless spears, 
daggers, and battle-axes; but, as may well be ima- 
gined, these were not to be used without danger ; so 
that even those festivals that passed by without the 
absolute death "of any of the champions, left, never- 
theless, many to drag out a maimed and miserable ex- 
istence, or to die after a long and weary sickness. And 
yet the very peril of the sport gave to it an all-powerful 
interest, which we can best conceive, at present, from 
our feelings at some deep and thrilling tragedy. 

After the excitement, and the expectation, and the 
suspense, and the eagerness, came the triumph and 
the prize — and the chosen queen of the field bestowed 
upon the champion whose feats were counted best, that 
reward, the value of which consisted more in the honour 
than the thing itself. Sometimes it was a jewel, 1 some- 
times a coronet 2 of flowers or of laurel ; but in all cases 
the award implied a right to one kiss from the lips of the 
lady appointed to bestow the prize. It seems to have 
been as frequent a practice to assign this prize on the 
field, as in the chateau 3 or palace whither the court re- 
tired after the sports were concluded : and we often find 
that the female part of the spectators were called to 
decide upon the merits of the several champions, and 
to declare the victor 4 as well as confer the reward. 
Mirth and festivity ever closed the day of the tourna- 
ment, and song and sports brought in the night. 
Every thing that could interest or amuse a barbarous 

1 Vie de Bayard. 2 Olivier de la Marche. 
8 Ducange, Dissert, vii. 4 St. Palaye. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



31 



age was collected on the spot where one of these meet- 
ings was held. The minstrel or menestrier, the jug- 
gler, the saltimbank, the story-teller, were present in 
the hall to sooth or to entertain ; but still the founda- 
tion of tale and song was Chivalry; — the objects of all 
praise were noble deeds and heroic actions ; and the 
very voice of love and tenderness, instead of seducing 
to sloth and effeminacy, was heard prompting to ac- 
tivity, to enterprise, and to honour — to the defence of 
virtue, and the search for glory. 

It may be here necessary to remark, that there were 
several sorts of tournaments, which differed essentially 
from each other ; but I shall not pause upon these 
any longer than merely to point ou the particular 
differences between them. The joust, which was cer- 
tainly a kind of tournament, was always confined to 
two persons, though these persons encountered each 
other with blunted arms. 1 

The combat at outrance was in fact a duel, and 
only differed from the trial by battle in being volun- 
tary, while the other was enforced by law. This 
contest was often the event of private quarrels, but 
was by no means always so ; and, to use the lan- 
guage of Ducange, 66 though mortal, it took place 
ordinarily between persons who most frequently did 
not know each other, or at least had no particular 
misunderstanding, but who sought alone to show forth 
their courage, generosity, and skill in arms." Some- 
times, however, the combat at outrance was under- 
taken by a number of knights 2 together, and often 
much blood was thus shed, without cause. 

The pas d'armes or passage of arms, differed from 
general tournaments, inasmuch as a certain number 
of knights fixed their shields and tents in a particular 
pass, or spot of ground, which they declared their 

1 Ducange, Dissert, vii. 2 Mat. Paris. Ann. 1241. 



32 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



intention to defend against all comers. 1 The space 
before their tents was generally listed in, as for a 
tournament; and, during the time fixed for the defence 
of the passage, the same concourse of spectators, 
heralds, and minstrels were assembled. 

The round table was another distinct sort of tour- 
nament, 2 held in a circular amphitheatre, wherein the 
knights invited jousted against each other. The origin 
of this festival, which was held, I believe, for the last 
time by Edward III., is attributed to Roger Mortimer, 3 , 
who, on receiving knighthood, feasted a hundred knights 
and a hundred ladies at a round table. The mornings 
were spent in chivalrous games, the prize of which 
was a golden lion, and the evenings in banquets and 
festivities. This course of entertainments continued 
three days with the most princely splendour ; after 
which Mortimer, having won the prize himself, con- 
ducted his guests to Warwick, and dismissed them. 

From this account, taken from the History of the 
Priory of Wigmore, Menestrier deduces that those 
exercises, called " round tables," were only tourna- 
ments, during which the lord or sovereign giving the 
festival entertained his guests at a table which, to 
prevent all ceremony in respect to precedence, was in 
the form of a circle. Perhaps, however, this institution 
may have had a different and an earlier origin, though 
I find it mentioned in no author previous to the year 
1279. 4 

Chivalry, which in its pristine purity knew no re- 
ward but honour, soon — as it became combined with 
power — appropriated to itself various privileges which, 
injuring its simplicity, in the end brought about its 

1 Colombiere. 2 Menestrier, vi. 

3 Mat. Wcstmonas. page 409. 

4 Should any one be tempted to investigate further, lie will 
find the subject discussed at length in the seventh dissertation 
of Ducange. See also the Chronique de Molinet. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



33 



fall. In the first place the knight was, by the fact of 
his Chivalry, the judge of all his equals, and conse- 
quently of all his inferiors. 1 He was also, in most 
cases, the executor of his own decree, and it would 
indeed have required a different nature from humanity 
to secure such a jurisdiction from frequent perversion. 
The knight 2 also took precedence of all persons who 
had not received Chivalry, a distinction well calculated 
to do away with that humility which was one of 
knighthood's strictest laws. 3 Added to this was the 
right of wearing particular dresses and colours, gold 
and jewels, which were restrained to the knightly class 
by very severe ordinances. Scarlet and green were 
particularly reserved for the order of knighthood, as 
well as ermine, minever, and some other furs. Knights 
also possessed what was called privilege of clergy, 
that is to say, in case of accusation they could claim 
to be tried before the ecclesiastical judge. 4 Their 
arms were legally forbidden to all other classes, and 
the title of Sire, Monseigneur, Sir, Don, &c, were 
applied to them alone, till the distinction was lost in 
the course of time. 

Though these\ privileges changed continually, and 
it is scarcely possible to say what age gave birth to 
any one of them, yet it is evident that monarchs, after 
they had seen the immense influence which Chivalry 
might have on their own power, and had striven to 
render it an engine for their own purposes, took every 
care to secure all those rights and immunities to the 
order which could in some degree balance the hard- 
ships, fatigues, and dangers, inevitably attendant upon 
it, and supply the place of that enthusiasm which of 
course grew fainter as the circumstances which ex- 
cited it changed, and the objects which it sought were 
accomplished. 

1 St. Palaye ; Ribeiro, lib. x. 2 Menestrier. 

3 Ordonances des Rois de France, ann. 1294. 

4 Pasquier Recherches. 

D 



34 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



It is probable that there would always have been 
many men who would have coveted Chivalry for the 
sole purpose of doing good, and protecting the inno- 
cent ; but monarchs sought to increase the number 
of knights as a means of defending their realms and 
extending their power, and consequently they sup- 
plied other motives and external honours as an induce- 
ment to those persons of a less exalted mind. 

Chivalry was indeed a distinction not to be enjoyed 
without many and severe labours. The first thing after 
receiving knighthood was generally a long journey 1 
into foreign countries, both for the purpose of jousting 
with other knights, and for instruction in every sort 
of chivalrous knowledge. There the young knight 
studied carefully the demeanour of every celebrated 
champion he met, and strove to glean the excellencies 
of each. Thus he learned courtesy and grace, and 
thus he heard all the famous exploits of the day which, 
borne from court to court by these chivalrous travellers, 
spread the fame of great deeds from one end of the 
world to the other. 2 

It cannot be doubted that this practice of wandering 
armed through Europe gave great scope to licen- 
tiousness in those who were naturally ill-disposed ; 
and many a cruelty and many a crime was assuredly 
committed by that very order instituted to put down 
vice and to protect innocence. To guard against 
this the laws of Chivalry were most severe; 3 and 
as great power was intrusted to the knight, great 
was the shame and dishonour if he abused it. The 
oath taken in the first place was as strictly opposed 
to every vice, as any human promise could be, and 
the first principle of chivalrous honour was never to 
violate an engagement. I must here still repeat 
the remark, that it was the spirit which constituted 

1 Vie de Bayard sur Jean d'Arces. 2 See note III. 
3 Colombiere. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



35 



the Chivalry, and as that spirit waned, Chivalry died 
away. 

One of the most curious institutions of Chivalry 
was that which required a knight, on his return from 
any expedition, 1 to give a full and minute account 
to the heralds, or officers of arms, of all his adventures 
during his absence, without reserve or concealment : 
telling as well his reverses and discomfitures, as his 
honours and success. To do this he was bound by 
oath ; and the detail thus given was registered by the 
herald, who by such relations learned to know and 
estimate the worth and prowess of each individual 
knight. It served also to excite other adventurers to 
great deeds in imitation of those who acquired fame 
and honour ; and it afforded matter of consolation to 
the unfortunate, who in those registers must ever have 
met with mishaps to equal or surpass their own. 

The spirit of Chivalry, however, led to a thousand 
deeds and habits not required nor regulated by any 
law. Were two armies opposed to each other, or even 
encamped in the neighbourhood of each other, though 
at peace, 2 the knights would continually issue forth 
singly from the ranks to challenge any other champion 
to come out, and break a lance in honour of his lady. 
Often before a castle, or on the eve of a battle, a 
knight would vow to some holy saint never to quit the 
field, or abandon the siege, till death or victory ended 
his design. Frequently, too, we find that in the midst 
of some great festival, where ail the Chivalry of the 
land was assembled, a knight would suddenly appear, 
bearing in his hands 3 a peacock, a heron, or some other 
bird. Presenting it in turn to each noble in the assem- 
bly, he would then demand their oath upon that bird 
to do some great feat of arms against the enemy. No 

1 La Coloinbiere. 2 Froissart Olivier de la Marche. 

3 See the " Vceu du Heron and the Vceu du Paon," cited in 
St. Palaye, 

D 2 



36 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



knight dared to refuse, and the vow so taken was 
irrevocable and never broken. 

One of the most extraordinary customs of Chivalry, 
and also one of the most interesting, was the adoption 
of a brother in arms. 1 

This custom 2 seems to have taken its rise in Eng- 
land, and was in common use especially amongst the 
Saxons. After the Conquest, however, it rapidly spread 
to other nations, and seems to have been a favourite 
practice with the crusaders. Esteem and long com- 
panionship were the first principles of this curious 
sort of alliance, which bound one knight to another by 
ties more strict than those of blood itself. 

It is true the brotherhood in arms was often con- 
tracted but for a time, or under certain circumstances, 3 
which once passed by, the engagement was at an end; 
but far oftener it was a bond for life, uniting interests 
and feelings, and dividing dangers and successes. The 
brothers in arms 4 met all perils together, undertook 
all adventures in company, shared in the advantage 
of every happy enterprise, and partook of the pain or 
loss of every misfortune. If the one was attacked in 
body, in honour, or in estate, the other sprang forward 
to defend him. Their wealth, and even their thoughts, 
were in common ; so that the news which the one 
received, or the design that he formed, he was bound 
to communicate to the other without reserve. Even if 
the one underlay a wager of battle 5 against any other 
knight, and was cut oif by death before he could dis- 
charge himself thereof, his brother in arms was bound 
to appear in the lists, in defence of his honour, on the 
day appointed. 

Sometimes 6 this fraternity of arms was contracted 

1 See note IV. 2 Ducange, Dissert, xxi. 3 Monstrelet. 
4 Juvenal des Ursius. 5 Hardouin de la Jaille. 

6 See deed between Du^Guesclin and Clisson. Ducange, Dis- 
sert, xxi. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



37 



by a solemn deed; sometimes by a vow ratified by 
the communion and other ceremonies of the church. 
In many cases, 1 however, the only form consisted in 
the mutual exchange of arms, which implied the same 
devotion to each other, and the same irrevocable en- 
gagement. 

I have now said sufficient concerning the habits and 
Customs of the ancient knights, to give a general idea 
of the rules by which Chivalry was governed, and the 
spirit by which it was animated. That spirit waxed 
fainter, it is true, as luxury and pomp increased, and 
as the barbarities of an early age merged into the 
softer licentiousness that followed. 

But the rules of the order themselves remained 
unchanged, and did far more than any other institu- 
tion to restrain the general incontinence 2 of the as;e. 
Even in those days, when chivalrous love was no 
longer pure, and chivalrous religion no longer the 
spring of the noblest morality, the spirit of the days 
of old lingered amidst the ruins of the falling insti- 
tution. An Edward, a Du Guesclin, a Bayard, a 
Sidney, would rise up in the midst of corrupted times, 
and shame the vices of the day by still showing one 
more true knight ; and even now, when the order 
has altogether passed away, we feel and benefit by its 
good effects. 

So complete a change has come over manners and 
customs, so rapid has been our late progress, and so 
many and vast have been the events of latter years, that 
to trace the remains of Chivalry in any of our present 
feelings or institutions, seems but a theoretical dream. 
The knights of old are looked upon as things apart, 
that have neither kin nor community with ourselves ; 
their acts are hardly believed ; and their very exist- 
ence is doubted. Let him, who would make his- 

1 Ducange, Gloss. Lat. Mutare Armas. 

2 See the Chevalier de la Tour, as cited by St. Palaye. 



38 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



torical remembrance more tangible, and see how nearly 
the days of Chivalry approach to our own, run his eye 
over one short page in the chronology of the world, 
and he will find, that no more than three centuries 
have passed, since Bayard himself died, a knight with- 
out reproach. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



39 



CHAPTER III. 



THE PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN EUROPE— EXPLOITS— THAT SOME GREAT EN- 
TERPRISE WAS NECESSARY TO GIVE CHIVALRY AN EXTENSIVE AND PERMA- 
NENT EFFECT — THAT ENTERPRISE PRESENTED ITSELF IN THE CRUSADES — 
PILGRIMAGE TO JERUSALEM — HAROUN AL RASCHID — CHARLEMAGNE- 
CRUELTIES OF THE TURKS— PILGRIMAGES CONTINUED— PETER THE HER- 
MIT — COUNCIL OF CLERMONT. 

The picture which I have just attempted to draw 
of the various customs of Chivalry, must be looked 
upon rather as a summary of its institutions and feel- 
ings, as they changed through many ages and many 
nations, than as a likeness of Chivalry at any precise 
period, or in any one country. 

Previous to the age of the crusades, to which I 
now propose to turn as speedily as possible, the state 
of Chivalry in Europe had made but little progress. 
It had spread, however, as a spirit, to almost all the 
nations surrounding the cradle of its birth. In Spain 
Alphonso VI. 1 was already waging a completely 
chivalric war against the Moors, and many of the 
knights of France, who afterwards distinguished them- 
selves in the Holy Land, had, in the service of one 
or other of the Spanish princes, tried their arms against 
the Saracens. 



1 Vertot. 



40 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



In England we have seen that there is reason to 
suppose the institution of knighthood was known 
to the Saxons/ though the indiscriminate manner in 
which the word miles is used in the Latin chronicles 
of the day, renders it scarcely possible to ascertain at 
what period the order was introduced. The same 
difficulty indeed occurs in regard to the Normans, 
though from various circumstances connected with the 
accounts given by William of Jumieges, 2 of the reigns 
of William I. and Richard I. Dukes of Normandy, 
we are led to believe that Chivalry was very early in- 
troduced amongst that people. At all events it seems 
certain that after the accession of Richard to the 
ducal dignity, a. d. 960, knightly feelings made great 
progress amongst the Normans, and in 1003, we find 
an exploit so purely chivalrous, performed by a body of 
forty gentlemen from Normandy, that we cannot doubt 
the spirit of knighthood in its purest form had already 
spread through that country. 

" Forty Norman gentlemen," says Vertot, " all 
warriors, who had distinguished themselves in the 
armies of the Duke of Normandy, returning from a pil- 
grimage to the Holy Land, disembarked in Italy without 
arms. Having learned that the town of Salerno was be- 
sieged by the Saracens, their zeal for religion caused them 
instantly to throw themselves into that place. Guimard, 
the Prince of Salerno, had shut himself up in the town, 
to defend it to the last against the infidels ; and he 
immediately caused arms and horses to be given to the 
Norman gentlemen, who made so many vigorous and 
unexpected sallies upon the Saracens, that jthcy com- 
pelled them to raise the siege.'' In Italy we find 
many traces of Chivalry at an early date, and it 
would appear that the institution which took its rise in 
France was no sooner known than adopted by most 
other nations. The Normans, whom we have seen 



1 Sharon Turner. 2 William of Jumieges, lib. ir. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



41 



above, succouring the Prince of Salerno in his necessity, 
did not remain a sufficient length of time in Italy to 
spread the chivalrous spirit ; but it is said, that 
Guimard, after using every effort to induce them to 
stay, sent deputies after them to Normandy, praying 
for aid from the nobles of that country against the 
Saracens. Several large bodies of Norman adven- 
turers, in consequence of his promises and persuasions, 
proceeded to establish themselves in Apulia and Cala- 
bria, defeated the Saracens, cleared the south of Italy 
and part of Greece, of those locust-like invaders, and 
re-established the Greek and Italian princes in their 
dominions. These princes, however, soon became 
jealous of their new allies, and employed various base 
means to destroy them. They, on the other hand, united 
for mutual defence, and under the famous Robert 
Guiscard, one of twelve brothers, who had left Nor- 
mandy for Italy together, they speedily conquered for 
themselves the countries which they had restored to 
ungrateful lords. Guiscard was now universally ac- 
knowledged as their chief, and thus began the chival- 
rous Norman empire in Italy. 

Nothing, perhaps, more favoured the general pro- 
gress of Chivalry than the state of religion in that 
day; which, overloaded with superstitions, and decked 
out with every external pomp and ornament, appealed 
to the imagination through the medium of the senses, 
and woke a thousand enthusiasms which could find no 
such fitting career as in the pursuits of knighthood. 
The first efforts of the feudal system too, gradually 
extending themselves to every part of Europe, joined 
to make Chivalry spread through the different coun- 
tries where they were felt, by raising up a number of 
independent lords who — each anxious to reduce his 
neighbours to vassalage, and to preserve his own sepa- 
rate lordship — required continual armed support from 
others, to whom he offered in return honour and pro- 
tection. 



42 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



Thus, for about a century, or perhaps a little more, 
after the first institution of knighthood, Chivalry 
slowly gained ground, and by each exploit of any par- 
ticular body of knights (such, for instance, as we have 
recorded of the Normans) the order became more 
and more respected, and its establishment more firm, 
decided, and regular. It wanted but one great enter- 
prise commenced and carried through upon chivalrous 
principles alone, to render Chivalry, combined as it 
was with religion and the feudal system, the great 
master power of Europe — and that enterprise was at 
hand. 

The natural reverence for those countries, sanctified 
and elevated by so many miracles, and rendered 
sublimely dear to the heart of every Christian, as the 
land in which his salvation was brightly but terribly 
worked out, had from all ages rendered Palestine an 
object of pilgrimage. In the earliest times, after the 
recognition of the Christian faith by Constantine, the 
subjects of the Roman empire had followed the ex- 
ample of the empress Helena, and had deemed it 
almost a Christian duty to visit the scenes of our 
Saviour's mortal career. For many ages while the 
whole of Judea remained under the sway of the Csesars, 
the journey was an easy one. Few difficulties way- 
laid the passenger, or gave pilgrimarro oven the merit 
of dangers encountered and obstacles overcome. 

Towards the seventh century, the eastern provinces 
of the Roman empire, already weakened by many 
invasions, had to encounter the exertions of another 
adversary, who succeeded in wresting them from their 
Christian possessors. The successors of Mahomet, 
who from a low station had become a great legislator, 
a mighty conqueror, and a pretended prophet, carried 
on the conquest which he had begun in Arabia, and 
one by one made themselves masters of Syria, Antioch, 
Persia, Medea, and in fact the greater part of the rich 
continent of Asia. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



43 



It is not here my purpose to trace the progress of 
these conquerors, or to examine for a moment the 
religion they professed. Suffice it, that in the days 
of Charlemagne the fame of that great prince produced 
from the calif Haroun al Raschid many liberal con- 
cessions in favour of the Christian pilgrims to Jerusa- 
lem, now in the hands of the unbelievers. 

Particular ages seem fertile in great men ; and it is 
very rare to find one distinguished poet, monarch, or 
conqueror, standing alone in his own century. Nay 
more; we generally discover — however different the 
country that produces them, and however opposite the 
circumstances under which they are placed — that there 
is a similarity in the character of the mind, if I may 
so express myself without obscurity, of the eminent 
persons produced in each particular age. This was 
peculiarly the case in the age of Charlemagne. It 
seemed as if the most remote corners of the earth had 
made an effort, at the same moment, to produce from 
the bosom of barbarism and confusion a great and 
intelligent monarch • — an Alfred, a Haroun, and a 
Charlemagne. The likeness seemed to be felt by the 
two great emperors of the east and the west ; and a 
reciprocation of courtesy 1 and friendship appears to 
have taken place between them, most rare in that 
remote age. Various presents were transmitted from 
one to the other ; and the most precious offering that 
the Christian monarch could receive, the keys of the 
Holy City, were sent from Bagdad to Aix, together 
with a standard, which has been supposed to imply 
the sovereignty of Jerusalem resigned by Haroun to 
his great contemporary. Nothing could afford a nobler 
proof of a great, a liberal, and a delicate mind, than 
the choice evinced by the calif in his gift. Charle- 
magne took advantage so far of Haroun's liberality, 3 



1 Eginliard. Annal. 



2 Mabillon. 



44 



HISTORY OF CHIVALHY. 



as to establish an hospital and a library for the Latin 
pilgrims. 

The successors of Haroun, and more particularly 
Monstacer Billah, continued to yield tolerance at 
least, if not protection, to the Christians of Jerusalem. 
The pilgrims also were more or less protected during 
the reigns that followed, both from motives of liberal 
feeling and of interest, as the great influx of travellers, 
especially from Italy, brought much wealth and com- 
merce into Syria. 

Under the califs of the Fatemite race several per- 
secutions took place ; and when at length the invasion 
of the Turkish hordes had brought the whole of Pales- 
stine under the dominion of a wild and barbarous 
race, Jerusalem was taken and sacked ; and while the 
Christian inhabitants were treated with every sort of 
brutal cruelty, the pilgrims were subject to taxation 1 
on their arrival, as well as liable to plunder by the 
way. 

A piece of gold was exacted for permission to enter 
the Holy City ; and at that time, when the value of the 
precious metals was infinitely higher than in the pre- 
sent day, few, if any of the pilgrims on their arrival, 
possessed sufficient to pay the cruel demand. 

Thus after having suffered toils unheard of — hun- 
ger, thirst, the parching influence of a burning sky, 
sickness, danger, and often robbery, and wounds; 
when the weary wanderer arrived at the very entrance 
of the city, with the bourn of all his long pilgrimage 
before him, the enthusiastic object of all his hopes in 
sight, the place of refuge and repose for which he had 
longed and prayed within his reach — unless he could 
pay the stipulated sum, he was driven by the barba- 
rians from the gates, and was forced to tread back all 
his heavy way unfurnished with any means, and un- 



1 William of Tyre, lib. i. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



45 



supported by any hope, or to die by the roadside of 
want, weariness, and despair. 

The pilgrimages nevertheless continued with unre- 
mitting zeal ; and the number of devotees increased 
greatly in the tenth and eleventh centuries. In the 
tenth, indeed, the custom of pilgrimage became almost 
universal, from a misinterpretation 1 of a prophecy in 
the Apocalypse. A general belief prevailed that at 
the end of the tenth century, the thousand years being 
concluded, the world was to be judged; and crowds 
of men and women, in the frantic hope of expiating 
their sins by the long and painful journey to the 
Holy Land, flocked from all parts of Europe towards 
Jerusalem. 

Many of the more clearsighted and sensible of the 
Christian prelates had from time to time attempted 
to dissuade the people from these dangerous and fatal 
pilgrimages ; but the principle of bodily infliction being 
received as a mark of internal penitence and a means 
of obtaining absolution, had been so long inculcated 
by the church of Rome, that the current of popular 
opinion had received its impulse, and it was no longer 
possible to turn it from its course. No penance could 
be more painful or more consistent with the prejudices 
of the multitude, than a pilgrimage to the Holy Land ; 
and thus the priests continued often to enforce the act, 
w T hile the heads of the church themselves, as religion 
became corrupted, learned to see this sort of penitence 
in the same light as the people, and encouraged its 
execution. They found the great efficacy of externa^ 
excitements in stimulating the populace to that super- 
stitious obedience on which they were fast building up 
the authority of the Roman church, and probably also 
were not without a share in the bigoted enthusiasm 
which they taught. Thus in the tenth century the pil- 
grimages which fear, lest the day of judgment should be 



1 Voltaire, Essai sur les Mceurs. 



46 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



approaching, induced many to undertake in expiation 
of their sins, met but little opposition ; while various 
meteoric phenomena, of a somewhat awful nature, 
earthquakes, hurricanes, &c, contributed to increase 
the general alarm. 

When these had passed by, and the dreaded epoch 
had brought forth nothing, the current still continued 
to flow on in the course that it had taken ; and during 
the eleventh century several circumstances tended 
to increase it. Amongst others, the terror spread 
through France by the Papal Interdict, called forth 
by the refractory adherence of Robert I. to his queen 1 
Bertha, brought more pilgrims than usual from that 
country. 

Of many thousands who passed into Asia, 2 a few 
isolated individuals only returned ; but these every 
day, as they passed through the different countries of 
Europe on their journey back, spread; indignation and 
horror by their account of the dreadful sufferings of 
the Christians in Judea. Various 3 letters are reported 
as having been sent by the emperors of the east to the 
different princes of Europe, soliciting aid to repel the 
encroachments of the infidel ; and if but a very small 
portion of the crimes and cruelty attributed to the 
Turks by these epistles, were believed by the Chris- 
tians, it is not at all astonishing that wrath and horror 
took possession of every chivalrous bosom. Pope 

» Guibert de Nogent. \ Will. Tyr. lib. i. 

z „ Mills mentions one from Manuel VII. to Pope Gregory VII., 
and Guibert of Nogent speaks of another which, though he cau- 
tiously avoids naming the emperor who wrote it, lest he should 
mislead from want of correct information, could only have been 
sent, under some of the circumstances he mentions, by Isaac 
Comnenus. Mills supposes it to have been the same with a letter 
written by Alexius, though it differs in many parts from the 
usual version of that epistle. Probably, however, this opinion 
is correct, as a letter is stated to have been addressed to Robert 
of Flanders, who was in his extreme youth in the time of Isaac 
Comnenus. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



47 



Sylvester II. had made an ineffectual appeal to Chris- 
tendom towards the end of the tenth century, bringing 
forward the first idea of a crusade; 1 but the age was 
not then ripe for a project that required a fuller de- 
velopment of chivalrous feelings. Gregory VJI. re- 
vived the idea, and made it the subject of a very 
pompous epistle; but he himself was one of the first 
to forget the miseries of his fellow christians in Pales- 
tine, in the pursuit of his own aggrandizement. 

Still, the persecution of the Christians in Palestine, 
and the murder and pillage of the pilgrims con- 
tinued ; still the indignation of Europe was fed and 
renewed by repeated tales of cruel barbarity commit- 
ted in the Holy Land — sufferings of the church— in- 
sults to religion — and merciless massacres of country- 
men and relations : still, also, the spirit of Chivalry was 
each day spreading further and rising more powerfully, 
so that all was preparing for some great and general 
movement. The lightning of the crusade was in the 
people's hearts, and it wanted but one electric touch 
to make it flash forth upon the world. 

At this time a man, of whose early days we have 
little authentic knowledge, but that he was bora at 
Amiens, and from a soldier, had become a priest, 2 
after living for some time the life of a hermit, became 
seized with the desire of visiting Jerusalem. He was, 
according to all accounts, 3 small in stature, and mean 
in person ; but his eyes possessed a peculiar fire and 
intelligence, and his eloquence was powerful and flow- 
ing. The fullest account of his manners and conduct 
is to be found in Robert the Monk, who was present 
at the council of Clermont, and in Guibert of Nogent, 
who speaks in the tone of one who has beheld what he 
relates. 

The first of these authors describes Peter the 

1 Murator. Script. Ital. 

2 Albert of Aix ; William of Tyre. 3 Ibid. 



48 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



Hermit 1 of whom we speak, as esteemed amongst 
those who best understand the things of earth, and 
superior in piety to all the bishops or abbots of the 
day. He fed upon neither flesh nor bread, says the 
same writer, though he permitted himself wine and 
other aliments, finding nevertheless his pleasure in the 
greatest abstinence. 

Guibert, or Gilbert of Nogent, speaks still more 
fully of his public conduct. 2 " He set out," says the 
writer, " from whence I know not, nor with what 
design ; but we saw him at that time passing through 
the towns and villages, preaching every where, and the 
people surrounding him in crowds, loading him with 
presents, and celebrating his sanctity with such high 
eulogiums, that I never remember to have seen such 
honours rendered to any other person. He showed 
himself very generous, however, in the distribution of 
the things given to him. He brought back to their 
homes the women that had abandoned their husbands, 
not without adding gifts of his own, and re-established 
peace between those who lived unhappily, with won- 
derful authority. In every thing he said or did, it 
seemed as if there was something of divine ; so much 
so, that people went to pluck some of the hairs from 
his mule, which they kept afterwards as relics ; which 
I mention here not that they really were so, but merely 
served to satisfy the public love of any thing extra- 
ordinary. While out of doors he wore ordinarily a 
woollen tunic, with a brown mantle, which fell down 
to his heels. He had his arms and his feet bare, eat 
little or no bread, and lived upon fish and wine." 

Such was his appearance after his return : prior to 
that period it is probable that this hermit had made 
himself remarkable for nothing but his general elo- 
quence and his ascetic severity. Great and extraordi- 
nary men are often long before opportunity gives scope 



1 Robert, lib. i. 



3 Guib. Nogent, lib. ii. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



49 



for the display of the particular spirit whose efforts 
are destined to distinguish them. I mean not to class 
Peter the Hermit amongst great men ; but certainly 
he deserves the character of one of the most extra- 
ordinary men that Europe ever produced, if it were 
but for the circumstance of having convulsed a world — 
led one continent to combat to extermination against 
another, and yet left historians in doubt whether he 
was madman or prophet, fool or politician. 

Peter, however, accomplished in safety his pilgrimage 
to Jerusalem, 1 paid the piece of gold demanded at 
the gates, and took up his lodging in the house of one 
of the pious Christians of the Holy City. Here his 
first emotion 2 seems to have been indignant horror at 
the barbarous and sacrilegious brutality of the Turks. 
The venerable prelate of Tyre represents him as con- 
ferring eagerly with his host upon the enormous cruel- 
ties of the infidels, even before visiting the general 
objects of devotion. Doubtless the ardent, passionate, 
enthusiastic mind of Peter had been wrought upon 
at every step he took in the Holy Land, by the 
miserable state of his brethren, till his feelings and 
imagination became excited to almost frantic vehe- 
mence. After performing the duties of the pilgrimage, 
visiting each object of reputed holiness, 3 and praying 
in those churches which had the fame of peculiar sanc- 
tity, Peter, with his heart w T rung at heholding the ob- 
jects of his deepest veneration in the hands of the 
church's enemies, demanded an audience of the pa- 
triarch, to whom some Latin friend presented him. 

Simeon the patriarch, though a Greek, and conse- 
quently in the eyes of Peter a heretic, was still a 
Christian, suffering in common with the rest of the 
faithful in the Holy Land, and the hermit saw in him 
that character alone. The union — the overflowing con- 

1 Hist. Hieros. abrev. Jacob. Vit. lib. i. 

2 Will. Tyr. lib. i. ; Albert. Cbron. Hieros. 

3 Will. Tyr. ; Hist. Hieros. ; Jacob. Vit. lib. i. 



50 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



fidence with which the hermit and the prelate appear 
to have treated each other, raises them both in our 
estimation ; but it also throws an historical light upon 
the character of Peter, which places him in a more 
elevated situation than modern historians have been 
willing to concede to him. The patriarch Simeon, a 
man as famous for his good sense as for his piety, would 
not, surely, have opened his inmost thoughts to a 
wandering pilgrim like Peter, and intrusted to him a 
paper sealed with his own seal, which, if taken by 
the Turks, would have ensured death to himself and 
destruction to Christianity in Palestine, had he not 
recognised in the hermit " a man," 1 to use the words 
of William of Tyre, " full of prudence and experience 
in the things of this world." 

This, however, was the case ; and after long conver- 
sations, wherein many a tear was shed over the hap- 
less state of the Holy Land, it was determined, at the 
suggestion of Peter, that the patriarch should write to 
the pope and the princes of the west, setting forth 
the miseries of Jerusalem and of the faithful people of 
the Holy City, and praying for aid and protection 
against the merciless sword of the Saracen. Peter, 
on his part, promised to seek out each individual 
prince, and to show, with his whole powers of lan- 
guage, the ills of the Christians of Palestine. 

From these conversations Peter went again and 
again to pray in the church *)f the Resurrection, pe- 
titioning ardently for aid in the great undertaking 
before him. On one of these occasions it is said that 
he fell asleep, 2 and beheld the Saviour in a vision, 
who exhorted him to hasten on his journey, and per- 
severe in his design. 

Without searching for any thing preternatural, the 
vision is not at all difficult to believe, though the 

1 Will. Tyr. lib. i. 

3 Albert. Aquensis; Hist. Hieros.; Jacobi Vitr.j Will. Tyr. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



51 



place of its occurrence seems to have been fictitious. 
Nothing could be more natural than for Peter the 
Hermit, with his mind full of the mission he was 
about to undertake, to dream that the being in whose 
cause he believed himself engaged, appeared to en- 
courage him, and to hasten his enterprise ; and it is 
easy to conceive that, with full confidence in this ma- 
nifestation of heavenly favour, he should set forth 
upon his journey with enthusiastic zeal. 

Bearing the letter of the patriarch, Peter now re- 
turned in haste to Italy, and sought out the pope, to 
declare the miseries of the church in the Holy 
Land, and to propose the means of its deliverance. 
Urban II., who then occupied the apostolic chair, had 
inherited from Gregory wars and contestations with 
the emperor Henry IV. and was at the same time 
embroiled with the weak and luxurious Philip I. of 
France, on the subject of that king's adulterous inter- 
course with Bertrade. He, as well as Gregory, had 
taken refuge in Apulia and Calabria, and had thrown 
himself upon the protection of the famous Robert Guis- 
card, who readily granted him the aid of that powerful 
mind which made the utmost parts of the earth tremble. 1 

It does not correctly appear at what place Urban 
sojourned at the time of Peter's arrival in Italy. 2 
His whole support was, evidently, still in the family of 
Guiscard ; and it seems that with Boemond, Prince of 
Tarentum, the gallant and chivalrous son of Robert, 
he first held council upon the hermit's 3 great and in- 
teresting proposal, before he determined on the line of 
conduct to be pursued. 

One of the historians of the crusades, 4 attributing 

1 See note V. 

2 William of Tyre says that he was wandering from place to 
place under the protection of Guiscard. This opinion I have 
adopted, although Albert of Aix declares that Peter joined him 
at Rome. 

3 Will, of Malmsbury. 4 Mills. 

E 2 



52 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



perhaps somewhat too much, the spirit of modern poli- 
tics to an age whose genius was of very different 
quality — supposes that the course determined on by 
the pope and his ally was, in fact, principally a shrewd 
plot to fix Urban firmly in the Vatican, and to for- 
ward Boemond's ambitious views in Greece. It seems 
to me, however, that such a supposition is perfectly 
irreconcilable with the subsequent conduct of either. 
The pope shortly after threw himself into the midst of 
his enemies, to hold a council on the subject of the 
crusades ; and Boemond abandoned every thing in 
Europe to carry on the holy war in Palestine. It is 
much more natural to imagine that the spirit of their 
age governed both the prelate and the warrior — the 
enthusiasm of religion the one, and the enthusiasm of 
Chivalry the other. 

However that may be, Peter the Hermit met with a 
most encouraging reception from the pope. The suf- 
ferings of his fellow- christians brought tears from the 
prelate's eyes, the general scheme of the crusade was 
sanctioned 1 instantly by his authority; and, promising 
his quick and active concurrence, he sent him on the 
pilgrim to preach the deliverance of the Holy Land 
through all the countries of Europe. Peter wanted 
neither zeal nor activity 2 — from town to town, from pro- 
vince to province, from country to country, he spread the 
cry of vengeance on the Turks, and deliverance to Je- 
rusalem ! The warlike spirit of the people was at its 
height; the genius of Chivalry was in the vigour of its 
early youth ; the enthusiasm of religion had now a 
great and terrible object before it, and all the gates of 
the human heart w r ere open to the eloquence of the 
preacher. That eloquence was not exerted in vain ; 
nations rose at his word and grasped the spear ; and it 
only wanted some one to direct and point the great en- 
terprise that was already determined. 



1 Will. Tyr. lib. i, 



s Guibertus $ Gesta Dei. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



.53 



In the mean time the pope did not forget his pro- 
mise ; and while Peter the Hermit spread the inspira- 
tion throughout Europe, 1 Urban called together a 
council at Placentia, to which deputies were admitted 
from the Emperor of Constantinople, who displayed 
the progress of the Turks, and set forth the danger to 
all Christendom of suffering their arms to advance 
unopposed. The opinion of the assembly was univer- 
sally favourable to the crusade ; and trusting to the 
popularity of the measure, and the indications of sup- 
port which he had already met with, the pope deter- 
mined to cross the Alps and to hold a second council 
in the heart of Gaul. 

The ostensible object of this council was to regulate 
the state of the church, and to correct abuses ; but the 
great object was, in fact, the crusade. It is useless to 
investigate the motives which gave Urban II. courage 
to summon a council, destined, amongst other things, 
to solemnly reprobate the dissolute conduct of Philip 
of France, in the midst of dominions, if not absolutely 
feudatory to the crown 2 of that monarch, at least bound 
to it by friendship and alliance. Whether it arose from 
fortitude of a just cause, or from reliance on political 
calculation, the prelate's judgment was proved by the 
event to be right. After one or two changes in regard 
to the place of meeting, the council was assembled at 
Clermont, in Auvergne, 3 and was composed of an un- 
heard-of multitude of priests, princes, and nobles, both 
of France and Germany, all willing and eager to receive 
the pope's injunctions with reverence and obedience. 
After having terminated the less important affairs 
which formed the apparent business of the meeting, 
and which occupied the deliberation of seven days, 
Urban, one of the most eloquent men of the age, 
came forth from the church, 4 in which the principal 

1 a. d. 1095. 2 Mills, chap. ii. 3 Will. Tyr. lib. i. 
4 Robertus Monachus, lib. i. 



54 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



ecclesiastics were assembled, and addressed the im- 
mense concourse which had been gathered into one 
of the great squares, no building being large enough 
to contain the number. 

The prelate 1 then, with the language best calcu- 
lated to win the hearts of all his hearers, displayed the 
miseries of the Christians in the Holy Land. He ad- 
dressed the multitude as a people peculiarly favoured 
by God, in the gift of courage, strength, and true faith. 
He told them that their brethren in the east were 
trampled under the feet of infidels, to whom God 
had not granted the light of his Holy Spirit — that fire, 
plunder, and the sword, had desolated completely the 
fair plains of Palestine — that her children were led 
away captive, or enslaved, or died under tortures too 
horrible to recount — that the women of their land were 
subjected to the impure passions of the pagans, and that 
God's own altar, the symbols of salvation, and the pre- 
cious relics of the saints, were all desecrated by the gross 
and filthy abomination of a race of heathens. To whom, 
then, he asked — to whom did it belong to punish such 
crimes, to wipe away such impurities, to destroy the 
oppressors, and to raise up the oppressed ? To whom, 
if not to those who heard him, who had received from 
God strength, and power, and greatness of soul ; whose 
ancestors had been the prop of Christendom, and whose 
kings had put a barrier to the progress of infidels? 

1 1 have followed as nearly as possible the account of Rober- 
tas Monachus, who was present. Having found in no book of 
any authenticity the speech attributed by more modern writers 
to Peter the Hermit, I have rejected it entirely as supposititious. 
Neither Robert, nor Albertus Aquensis, nor William of Tyre, 
nor Guibert of Nogent, nor James of Vitry, the most authentic 
historians of the crusade, some of whom were present at the 
council of Clermont, and most of whom lived at the time, even 
mention the appearance of Peter at that assembly. That he 
might be there, I do not attempt to deny, but that he addressed 
the people I believe utterly unfounded. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



55 



" Think!" he cried, " of the sepulchre of Christ our 
Saviour possessed by the foul heathen ! — think of all 
the sacred places dishonoured by their sacrilegious im- 
purities ! — brave knights, offspring of invincible 
fathers, degenerate not from your ancient blood ! re- 
member the virtues of your ancestors, and if you feel 
held back from the course before you by the soft ties 
of wives, of children, of parents, call to mind the 
words of our Lord himself : £ Whosoever loves father 
or mother more than me, is not worthy of me. Whoso- 
ever shall abandon for my name's sake his house, or 
his brethren, or his sisters, or his father, or his mother, 
or his wife, or his children, or his lands, shall receive 
an hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life.' " 

The prelate then went on to point out the superior 
mundane advantages which those might obtain who 
took the cross. He represented their own country as 
poor and arid, and Palestine as a land flowing with 
milk and honey; and, blending the barbarous ideas of 
a dark age with the powerful figures of enthusiastic 
eloquence, he proceeded — " Jerusalem is in the centre 
of this fertile land ; and its territories, rich above all 
others, offer, so to speak, the delights of Paradise. 
That land, too, the Redeemer of the human race ren- 
dered illustrious by his advent, honoured by his resi- 
dence, consecrated by his passion, repurchased by his 
death, signalized by his sepulture. That royal city, 
Jerusalem — situated in the centre of the world — 
held captive by infidels, who deny the God that 
honoured her — now calls on you and prays for her de- 
liverance. From you — from you above all people she 
looks for comfort, and she hopes for aid ; since God 
has granted to you, beyond other nations, glory and 
might in arms. Take, then, the road before you in 
expiation of your sins, and go, assured that, after the 
honour of this world shall have passed away, imperish- 
able glory shall await you even in the kingdom of 
heaven!" 



56 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



Loud shouts of " God wills it ! God wills it !" pro- 
nounced simultaneously by the whole people, in all 
the different dialects and languages of which the mul- 
titude was composed, here interrupted for a moment 
the speech of the prelate: but, gladly seizing the time, 
Urban proceeded, after having obtained silence, 
" Dear brethren, to-day is shown forth in you that 
which the Lord has said by his evangelist — ' When 
two or three shall be assembled in my name, there 
shall I be in the midst of them for if the Lord God 
had not been in your souls, you would not all have 
pronounced the same words ; or, rather, God himself 
pronounced them by your lips, for he it was that put 
them in your hearts. Be they, then, your war-cry in 
the combat, for those words came forth from God. — 
Let the army of the Lord, when it rushes upon his 
enemies, shout but that one cry, ' God wills it ! God 
wills it I' 1 

" Remember, however, that we neither order nor 
advise this journey to the old, nor to the weak, nor to 
those who are unfit to bear arms. Let not this way be 
taken by women, without their husbands, or their bro- 
thers, or their legitimate guardians, for such are rather 
a burden than an aid. Let the rich assist the poor, and 
bring with them, at their own charge, those who can 
bear arms to the field. Still, let not priests nor clerks, 
to whatever place they may belong, set out on this 
journey without the permission of their bishop; nor the 
layman undertake it without the blessing of his pastor, 
for to such as do so their journey shall be fruitless. 
Let whoever is inclined to devote himself to the cause 
of God, make it a solemn engagement, and bear the 
cross of the Lord either on his breast or on his brow 
till he set out ; and let him who is ready to begin his 
march, place the holy emblem on his shoulders, in 
memory of that precept of the Saviour— 6 He who 



1 See note VI. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



57 



does not take up his cross and follow me, is not worthy 
of me.' " 

The pontiff thus ended his oration, and the multi- 
tude prostrating themselves before him, repeated the 
Confiteor 1 after one of the cardinals. The pope then 
pronounced the absolution of their sins, and bestowed 
on them his benediction ; after which they retired to 
their homes to prepare for the great undertaking to 
which they had vowed themselves. 

Miracles are told of the manner in which the news 
of this council, and of the events that distinguished it, 
spread to every part of the world ; but nevertheless it 
did spread, as may easily be conceived, with great 
quickness, without any supernatural aid ; and, to make 
use of the words of him from whom we have sketched 
the oration of the pope, " Throughout the earth, the 
Christians glorified themselves and were filled with joy, 
while the gentiles of Arabia and Persia trembled and 
were seized with sadness : the souls of the one race 
were exalted, those of the others stricken with fear and 
stupor.'' 

Great, certainly, was the influence which the zeal and 
eloquence of Urban gave him over the people. Some 
authors, with a curious sort of historical puritanism, 
which leads them to judge of ages past only by the 
principles of the day in which they themselves exist, 
have reproached the pope with not using the means in 
his hands for purposes, which would have needed the 
heart of a Fenelon to conceive properly, and the head 
of a Napoleon to execute. They say that, with the 
powers which he did possess, he might have reformed 
a world ! It is hardly fair, methinks, to require of a 
man in a barbarous, ignorant, corrupted age the en- 
lightened visions of the nineteenth century. 

Pope Urban II., at the end of the eleventh century, 



1 Robertus Monachus. 



58 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



showed a great superiority to the age in which he 
lived, and at the council of Clermont evinced qua- 
lities of both the heart and the mind which have de- 
servedly brought his name down to us with honour. 
His first act in the council was to excommunicate for 
adulterous profligacy, Philip, monarch of the very 
ground on which he stood; and, in so doing, he made 
use of the only acknowledged authority by which the 
kings of that day could be checked in the course of 
evil. Whether the authority itself was, or was not, 
legitimate, is not here the question ; but, being at the 
time undisputed, and employed for the best of objects, 
its use can in no way fairly be cited as an instance either 
of pride or ambition. The pope's conduct in preach- 
ing the crusade is equally justifiable. His views were 
of course those of the age in which he lived, and he 
acted with noble enthusiasm in accordance with those 
views. He made vast efforts, he endangered his person, 
he sacrificed his ease and comfort, to accomplish what 
no churchman of his day pretended to doubt was a 
glorious and a noble undertaking. In thus acting, he 
displayed great qualities of mind, and showed himself 
superior to the century in powers of conducting, if he 
was not so in the powers of conceiving great designs. 

It would be very difficult to prove, also, that the 
pope, had he even possessed the will, could, by the ex- 
ertion of every effort, have produced the same effect in 
any other cause that he did in favour of the crusades. 
I have already attempted to show that all things were 
prepared in Europe for the expedition to the Holy 
Land, by the spirit of religious and military enthusiasm ; 
and the task was light, to aid in pouring on the current 
of popular feeling, in the direction which it had already 
begun to take, when compared with the labour neces- 
sary to have turned that current into another channel. 
He who does not grasp the spirit of the age on which 
he writes, but judges of other days by the feelings of 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



59 



his own, is like one who would adapt a polar dress to 
the climate of the tropics. 

Before closing- this chapter, one observation, also, 
must be made respecting the justice of the crusade, 
which enterprise, it has become somewhat customary 
to look upon as altogether cruel and unnecessary. 
Such an opinion, however, is in no degree founded on 
fact. The crusade was not only as just as any other 
warfare of the day, but as just as any that ever was 
waged. The object was, the protection and relief of a 
cruelly oppressed and injured people — the object was, 
to repel a strong, an active, and an encroaching enemy 
— the object was, to wrest from the hands of a blood- 
thirsty and savage people, territories which they them- 
selves claimed by no right but the sword, and in which 
the population they had enslaved was loudly crying 
for deliverance from their yoke — the object was, to de- 
fend a weak and exposed frontier from the further ag- 
gression of a nation whose boast was conquest. 

Such were the objects of the crusades ; and, though 
much of superstition was mingled with the incitements, 
and many cruelties committed in its course, the evils 
were not greater than ordinary ambition every day 
produces ; and the motives were as fair as any of those 
that have ever instigated the many feuds and warfares 
of the world. 



60 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE EFFECTS OF THE COUNCIL OF CLERMONT— STATE OF FRANCE— MOTIVES 
OF THE PEOPLE FOR EMBRACING THE CRUSADE— BENEFITS PRODUCED— THE 
ENTHUSIASM GENERAL— RAPID PROGRESS— THE FIRST BODIES OF CRUSA- 
DERS BEGIN THEIR MARCH— GAUTIER SANS AVOIR— HIS ARMY— THEIR DIS- 
ASTERS — RE A C H CONSTANTINOPLE— PETBR THE HERMIT SETS OUT WITH AN 
IMMENSE MULTITUDE— STORMS SEMLIN— DEFBATED AT NISSA— HIS HOST 
DISPERSED— THE REMAINS COLLECTED— JOINS GAUTIER— EXCESSES OF THE 
MULTITUDE— THE ITALIANS AND GERMANS SEPARATE FROM THE FRENCH— 
THE GERMANS EXTERMINATED— THE FRENCH CUT TO PIECES— CONDUCT OF 
ALEXIUS. 

The immediate effects of the council of Clermont 
are detailed with so much animation by Guibert, of 
Nogent, that I shall attempt to trace them nearly in 
his own words, merely observing, that previous to his 
departure from France, Urban II. having taken every 
means in his power to secure the property of the cru- 
saders during their absence, committed the chief direc- 
tion of the expedition to Adhemar, Bishop of Puy, in 
Auvergne. 1 

" As soon as the council of Clermont was con- 
cluded, " says the historian, " a great rumour spread 
through the whole of France, and as soon as fame 
brought the news of the orders of the pontiff to any 
one, he went instantly to solicit his neighbours and 



1 Fulcher of Chartres j Guibert of Nogent ; William of Tyre. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



61 



his relations to engage with him in the way of God, 
for so they designated the purposed expedition. 

" The Counts Palatine 1 were already full of the desire 
to undertake this journey ; and all the knights of an 
inferior order felt the same zeal. The poor themselves 
soon caught the flame so ardently, that no one paused 
to think of the smallness of his wealth, or to consider 
whether he ought to yield his house, and his fields, 
and his vines ; but each one set about selling his pro- 
perty, at as low a price as if he had been held in some 
horrible captivity, and sought to pay his ransom with- 
out loss of time. 

" At this period, too, there existed a general dearth. 
The rich even felt the want of corn ; and many, with 
every thing to buy, had nothing, or next to nothing, 
wherewithal to purchase what they needed. The poor 
tried to nourish themselves with the wild herbs of the 
earth ; and, as bread was very dear, sought on all 
sides food heretofore unknown, to supply the place of 
corn. The wealthy and powerful were not exempt ; but 
finding themselves menaced with the famine which 
spread around them, and beholding every day the terri- 
ble wants of the poor, they contracted their expenses, 
and lived with the most narrow parsimony, lest they 
should squander the riches now become so necessary. 

" The ever insatiable misers rejoiced in days so fa- 
vourable to their covetousness ; and, casting their eyes 
upon the bushels of grain which they had hoarded 
long before, calculated each day the profits of their 
avarice. Thus some struggled with every misery and 
want, while others revelled in the hopes of fresh ac- 
quisitions. No sooner, however, had Christ inspired, 
as I have said, innumerable bodies of people to seek a 
voluntary exile, than the money which had been hoarded 
so long was spread forth in a moment; and that which 
was horribly dear while all the world was in repose, 



1 See note VII. 



62 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



was on a sudden sold for nothing, as soon as every 
one began to hasten towards their destined journey. 
Each man hurried to conclude his affairs ; and, asto- 
nishing to relate, we then saw — so sudden was the 
diminution in the value of every thing — we then saw 
seven sheep sold for five deniers. The dearth of grain 
also was instantly changed into abundance; and every 
one, occupied solely in amassing money for his journey, 
sold every thing that he could, not according to its 
real worth, but according to the value set upon it by 
the buyer. 

" In the mean while, the greater part of those who 
had not determined upon the journey, joked and 
laughed at those who were thus selling their goods 
for whatever they could get; and prophesied that their 
voyage would be miserable, and their return worse. 
Such was ever the language one day; but the next — 
suddenly seized with the same desire as the rest — those 
who had been most forward to mock, abandoned every 
thing for a few crowns, and set out with those whom 
they had laughed at but a day before. Who shall tell 
the children and the infirm that, animated with the 
same spirit, hastened to the war ? Who shall count 
the old men and the young maids who hurried for- 
ward to the fight ? — not with the hope of aiding, but 
for the crown of martyrdom to be won amidst the 
swords of the infidels. 6 You warriors/ they cried, 
' you shall vanquish by the spear and brand ; but let 
us, at least, conquer Christ by our sufferings. ' At the 
same time, one might see a. thousand things springing 
from the same spirit, which were both astonishing and 
laughable : the poor shoeing their oxen, as we shoe 
horses, and harnessing them to two-wheeled carts, in 
which they placed their scanty provisions and their 
young children ; and proceeding onward, while the 
babes, at each town or castle that they saw, demanded 
eagerly whether that was Jerusalem." 

Such is the picture presented, by an eyewitness, of 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



63 



the state of France after the first promulgation of the 
crusade ; and a most extraordinary picture it is. The 
zeal, the enthusiasm, the fervour of the spirit, the brutal 
ignorance and dark barbarity of the people, are the 
.objects that catch the eye from the mere surface ; but 
underneath may be seen a hundred fine and latent tints 
which mingle in the portrait of the age. There may be 
found the hope of gain and the expectation of wealth 
in other lands, as well as the excitement of devotion ; 
and there also may be traced the reckless, daring cou- 
rage of a period when comfort was unknown, and 
when security was scarcely less to be expected amongst 
the swords of the Saracens, than in the fields of France 
and Germany. While the thirst of adventure, the 
master-passion of the middle ages, prompted to any 
change of scene and circumstances, imagination por- 
trayed the land in view with all that adventitious splen- 
dour which none — of all the many betrayers of the 
human mind — so well knows how to bestow as hope. 

The same land, when the Jews marched towards it 
from the wilderness, had been represented to them 
as a land flowing with milk and honey ; rich in all 
gifts ; and doubtless that inducement moved the stub- 
born Hebrews, as much as the command of him they 
had so often disobeyed. Now the very same prospect 
was held out to another host of men, as ignorant of 
what lay before them as the Jews themselves ; and it 
may be fairly supposed that, in their case too, ima- 
ginary hopes, and all the gay phantasma of ambition, 
shared powerfully with religion in leading them on- 
ward to the promised land. 

Still, zeal and sympathy, and indignation, and chi- 
valrous feeling, and the thirst of glory, and the passion 
for enterprise, and a thousand vague but great and 
noble aspirations, mingled in the complicated motive 
of the crusade. It increased by contagion; it grew by 
communion ; it spread from house to house, and from 



64 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



bosom to bosom; it became an universal desire — an 
enthusiasm — a passion — a madness. 

In the mean while, the crusade was not without 
producing a sensible benefit even to Europe. The 
whole country had previously been desolated by feuds 1 
and pillage, and massacre. Castle waged war with 
castle ; baron plundered baron ; and from field to 
field, and city to city, the traveller could scarcely pass 
without injury or death. No sooner, 2 however, had 
the crusade been preached at the council of Clermont, 
than the universal peace, which was there commanded, 
called the Truce 3 of God, was sworn throughout the 
country, the plunder ceased and the feuds disap- 
peared. The very fact of the wicked, the infamous, 
and the bloodthirsty, having embraced the crusade, 
either from penitence or from worse motives, was a 
positive good to Europe. That not alone the good, 4 
the religious, the zealous, or the brave, filled the ranks 
of the cross is admitted on all hands ; yet those who 
had once assumed that holy sign, were obliged, in 
some degree, to act as if their motives had been pure, 
and their very absence was a blessing to the land they 
left. 

Still the crusade went on ; and the imagination of 
the people being once directed towards a particular 
object, found, even in the phenomena which in for- 
mer days would have struck nations with fear and 
apprehension, signs of blessing and omens of success. 
An earthquake itself 5 was held as good augury ; and 
scarcely a meteor shot across the sky without affording 
some theme for hope. 

The sign of the cross was now to be seen on the shoul- 
der of every one; and being generally cut in red 6 cloth, 
was a conspicuous and remarkable object. As these 

1 Guibert of Nogent. 2 Fulcher of Chartres ; William of Tyre. 
3 Guiberti ; Gesta Dei. 4 Albert. Aquensis ; Will. Tyr. j Guibert. 
5 Albert of Aix. 6 See Ducange in Sig. Cruc. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



65 



multiplied, the hearts even of the fearful grew strong*, 
and the contagion of example added to the number 
every hour. Peter the Hermit, indefatigable in his call- 
ing, though his mind seems clay by day 1 to have be- 
come more excited, till enthusiasm grew nearly akin 
to madness, gathered a vast concourse of the lower 
orders, and prepared to set out by the way of Hun- 
gary. But the real and serviceable body of crusaders, 
was collected from amongst another class, whose mi- 
litary habits and chivalrous character were well cal- 
culated to effect the great object proposed. 

In France, Hugh, the brother of King Philip, Ro- 
bert, Count of Flanders, Stephen, Count of Chartres 
and Blois, Adhemar, Bishop of Puy, William, Bishop 
of Orange, Raimond, Count of Toulouse, and many 
others of the highest station, assumed the cross, and 
called together all the knights and retainers that their 
great names and influence could bring into the field. 
Robert, Duke of Normandy, son of William the Con- 
queror of England, accompanied by a number of 
English barons, prepared also for the crusade. God- 
frey of Loraine, and his brothers, were added to the 
number ; and Boemond, Prince of Tarento, the valiant 
son of Ptobert Guiscard, cast from him the large pos- 
sessions which his sword and that of his father, had 
conquered, and turned his hopes and expectations 
towards the east. 

The immense multitudes thus assembled are said to 
have amounted to nearly six millions of souls; 2 and 
one of the most astonishing proofs of the rapidity with 
which the news of the crusade must have spread, and 
the enthusiasm with which it was received, is to be 
found in the fact, that the council of Clermont was 
held in the November of the year 1095, and that early 
in the spring of 1096 a large body of the crusaders 
was in motion towards Palestine. 

1 Albert of Aix ; James of Vitry , Robert the Monk ; Guibert, 

2 Fulcher. 

F 



66 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



The historians of the day are not at all agreed in 
regard to which was the multitude that led the way 
towards the Holy Land. It appears 1 almost certain, 
however, that Gautier sans avoir, or Walter the Pen- 
ny less, a Burgundian gentleman without fortune, 
who had assembled a considerable band of the lower 
classes under the banner of the cross, was the first 
who set out in compliance with the general vow. He 
was, according to all accounts, a complete soldier of 
fortune, renowned for his poverty even to a proverb, 
but by no means, as has been asserted, without mili- 
tary fame. All 2 the contemporary writers designate 
him by his cognomen of poverty ; but all at the same 
time describe him as an illustrious warrior. Never- 
theless, the host that he led was rather an ill-governed 
crowd of men on foot than an army ; and but eight 
knights accompanied the leader on his expedition. 
The difficulties of the undertaking were incalculable ; 
and the followers of Walter had provided but little 
for the necessities of the way. It showed, however, 
no small skill in that leader to conduct the disorderly 
rabble by which he was followed, so far as he did in 
safety. 

Passing through Germany, 3 he entered into Hun- 
gary; where, entangled amongst the marshes and passes 
of that kingdom, his whole followers must have perished 
inevitably, had he not met with the greatest kindness 
and assistance from the king and people of the country, 
who, professing the Christian religion, understood and 
venerated the motives of the crusade. 

Thus the host of Walter swept on till their arrival 
at Semlin, where some stragglers were attacked and 
plundered by a party of Hungarians less humane than 
their brethren. The arms and crosses of the crusaders 

1 Albert of Aix ; William of Tyre. Mills follows this opinion ; 
Guibert of Nogent and James of Vitry are opposed to it, and 
Fulcher gives a different account also. 

3 Fulcher ; Will. Tyr. ; Albert. Aquen. 3 Will. Tyr. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



67 



who had thus been despoiled, were fixed upon the 
walls of the city as a sort of trophy ; but Walter, 
though strongly urged by his followers to seek venge- 
ance for the insult, wisely forbore ; and passing for- 
ward, entered into Bulgaria. Here the champions of 
the cross met with no further aid. The people re- 
garded them with jealous suspicion ; the cities shut 
their gates upon them ; all commerce was prohibited, 
and all supplies denied. 

Famine now imperiously urged them to violence ; 
and having taken possession of whatever flocks and 
herds they could find, the crusaders soon found them- 
selves attacked by the Bulgarians, by whom consider- 
able numbers were cut off and destroyed. 

Walter himself, with great wisdom 1 and resolution, 
forced his way through innumerable difficulties, till he 
had left behind him the inhospitable country of the 
Bulgarians ; and at length brought his army, infi- 
nitely wasted by both famine and the sword, to the 
neighbourhood of Constantinople. Here he obtained 
permission to refresh his forces, and wait the arrival of 
Peter the Hermit himself, who followed close upon 
his steps. 

The multitude which had been collected by the 
Hermit, was even of a less uniform and regular de- 
scription than that which had followed Gautier 
sans avoir. Men, women, and children — all sexes, 
ages, and professions — many and distinct languages 
— a quantity of baggage and useless encumbrance, ren- 
dered the army of Peter as unwieldy and dangerous 
an engine as ever was put in motion . Notwithstand- 
ing its bulk and inconsistency, it also proceeded in 
safety, and without much reproach, through Germany 
and Hungary ; but at Semlin, the sight of the crosses 
and vestments which had been stripped from 2 the 
stragglers of Walter's host roused the anger of the 



1 Albert of Aix ; William of Tyre. 2 Albert of Aix. 

f2 



6§ 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



multitude. The town was attacked aud taken by as- 
sault, with all the acts of savage ferocity which usually 
follow such an occurrence; and the crusaders, without 
remorse, gave themselves up to every barbarity that 
dark and unrestrained passions could suggest. 1 

The news of this event soon reached the King of 
Hungary; who, calling together a considerable force, 
marched to avenge the death and pillage of his 
subjects. His approach instantly caused Peter to de- 
camp from Semlin ; but the passage of the Morava 
was opposed by a tribe of savage Bulgarians : few 
boats were to be procured ; those that were found were 
of small dimensions ; and the rafts that could be 
hastily constructed were but little manageable in a 
broad and rapid river. Some of the crusaders thus 
perished in the water, some fell by the arrows of the 
enemy ; but the tribe that opposed the passage being 
defeated and put to flight, the rest of Peter's fol- 
lower's were brought over in safety. 

The Hermit now, after having sacrificed the prisoners 
to what was then considered a just resentment, pursued 
his way to Nissa, in which town the Duke of Bulgaria 
had fortified himself, having abandoned Belgrade at 
the approach of the army of the cross. Finding, how- 
ever, that Peter did not at all contemplate taking 
vengeance for the iiihospitality shown to Gautier sans 
avoir, the duke wisely permitted his subjects to supply 
the crusaders with necessaries. 

Thus ail passed tranquilly under the walls of Nissa, 
till Peter and his host had absolutely departed, when 
some German stragglers, remembering a controversy 
of the night before with one of the Bulgarian mer- 
chants, set fire to several mills and houses without the 
walls of the town. 

Enraged at this wanton outrage, the armed people 
of the city rushed out upon the aggressors ; and, not 



1 Guibert. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



69 



contented with sacrificing them to their fury, fell upon 
the rear of the Hermit's army, glutted their wrath with 
the blood of all that opposed them, and carried off the 
baggage, the women, the children, and all that part of 
the multitude whose weakness, at once, caused them to 
linger behind, and left them without defence. 

The moment that Peter heard of this event, he 
turned back ; and, with a degree of calmness and 
moderation that does high honour to his memory, he 
endeavoured to investigate the cause of the disaster, 
and conciliate by courtesy and fair words. This ne- 
gotiation was highly successful; the duke, appeased 
with the vengeance he had taken, agreed to return the 
prisoners and the baggage, and every thing once 
more assumed a peaceful aspect; when suddenly, a 
body of a thousand imprudent men, fancying that they 
saw T an opportunity of seizing on the town, passed the 
stone bridge, and endeavoured to scale the walls. A 
general conflict ensued ; the ill- disciplined host of the 
crusaders was defeated and dispersed, and Peter him- 
self, obliged to fly alone, took refuge like the rest in 
the neighbouring forests. 

For some time he pursued his way over mountains, 1 
and wastes, and precipices ; and it may easily be con- 
ceived that his heart — so lately elated with honour, and 
command, and gratified enthusiasm — now felt desolate 
and crushed, to find the multitude his voice had 
gathered, dispersed or slain, and himself a wander- 
ing fugitive, in a foreign land, without shelter, protec- 
tion, or defence. At length, it is said, he met by chance 
several of his best and most courageous knights at the 
top of a mountain, where they had assembled with no 
more than five hundred men, which seemed at first all 
that remained of his vast army. 2 He caused, however, 
signals to be made and horns to be sounded in the 



1 Albert of Aix. 



2 Ibid. 



70 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



different parts of the forest, that any of the scattered 
crusaders within hearing, might be brought to one spot. 

These and other means which were put in practice 
to call together the remnants of his army, proved so 
successful, that before night seven thousand men were 
collected, and with this force he hastened to march on 
towards Constantinople. As he went, other bands, 
which had been separated from him in the confusion of 
the flight, rejoined him, and the only difficulty as the 
host advanced was to procure the necessaries of life. 

The news of Peter's adventures flew before them, 
and reached even Constantinople. Alexius, the em- 
peror, who had not yet learned to fear the coming of 
the crusaders, sent deputies to meet the Hermit, and 
to hasten his journey; and at Philippopoli the eloquent 
display of his sufferings, which Peter addressed to the 
assembled people, moved their hearts to compassion 
and sympathy. The wants of the host were plen- 
tifully supplied, and after reposing for some days in 
the friendly city, the whole body, now again amount- 
ing to thirty thousand men, set out for Constantinople, 
where they arrived in safety, and joined the troops 
which Walter the Pennyless had conducted thither 
previously. 

Here they found a considerable number of Lombards 
and Italians ; but these, also, as well as the troops 
which they had themselves brought thither, were not 
only of the lowest but of the most disorderly classes of 
the people. It is no wonder, therefore — although 
Alexius supplied them with money and provisions, and 
tried to secure to them the repose and comfort that they 
needed in every respect — that these ruffian adventurers 
should soon begin to tire of tranquillity and order, and 
to exercise their old trades of plunder and excess. 1 They 
overturned palaces, set fire to the public buildings, 



1 Guibert. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



71 



and stripped even the lead off the roofs of the churches, 
which they afterwards sold to the Greeks from whom 
they had plundered it. 

Horrified by these enormities, 1 the emperor soon 
found a pretext to hurry them across the Bosphorus, still 
giving them the humane caution, to wait the arrival of 
stronger forces, before they attempted to quitBithynia. 
Here, however, their barbarous licentiousness soon 
exceeded all bounds, and Peter the Hermit himself 
having lost command over his turbulent followers, 
returned to Constantinople in despair, upon the pre- 
tence of consulting with the emperor on the subject of 
provisions. 2 

After his departure, the Lombards and Germans 
separated themselves from the French and Normans, 
whose crimes and insolence disgusted evenHheir barba- 
rous fellows . Gan tier sans avoir still continued in com- 
mand of the French, who remained where Peter had left 
them ; but the Italians 3 and Germans chose for their 
leader one Renault, or Rinaldo, and, marching on, made 
themselves masters of a fortress called Exorogorgon, 
or Xerigord. Here they were attacked by the sultan 
Soliman, who cut to pieces a large body placed in 
ambuscade, and then invested the fort, which, being 
ill supplied with water, he was well aware must sur- 
render before long. 

For eight days the besieged underwent tortures too 
dreadful to be dwelt upon, from the most ago- 
nizing thirst. At the end of that time, Rinaldo, 
and his principal companions, went over to the Turks, 
abandoned their religion, and betrayed their brethren. 
The castle thus falling into the hands of the infidels, 

1 Baldric. 2 Albert of Aix. 

3 Guibert of Nogent, lib. ii. ; Albert of Aix, lib. i. ; Orderic 
Vital, lib. ix. Mills says it was the French and Normans who 
thus advanced into the country, but the great majority of writers 
is against him. 



72 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



the Christians that remained were slaughtered without 
mercy. 

The news of this disaster was soon brought to the 
French camp, and indignation spread amongst the 
crusaders. 1 Some say a desire of vengeance, some a 
false report of the fall of Nice, caused the French to 
insist upon hurrying forward towards the Turkish ter- 
ritory. Gautier wisely resisted for some time all the 
entreaties of his troops, but at length finding them pre- 
paring to march, without his consent, he put himself 
at their head, and led them towards Nice. Before 
reaching that place, he was encountered by the Turkish 
forces. The battle was fierce, but unequal : Gautier 
and his knights fought with desperate courage, 2 but 
all their efforts were vain ; the Christians were slaugh- 
tered in every direction ; and Gautier himself, after 
having displayed to the last, that intrepid valour for 
which he was renowned, fell under seven mortal 
wounds. 

Not above three thousand Christians effected their 
escape to Civitot. Here again they were attacked by 
the Turks, who surrounded the fortress with vast piles 
of wood, in order to exterminate by fire the few of the 
crusaders that remained. The besieged, however, 
watched their moment, and while the wind blew towards 
the Turkish camp, set fire to the wood themselves, 
which thus was consumed without injury to them, 
while many of their enemies were destroyed by the 
flames. 3 

In the mean time one of the crusaders had made 
his way to Constantinople, and communicated the 
news of all these disasters to Peter the Hermit. The 
unhappy Peter, painfully disappointed, like all those 

1 Albert of Aix ; William of Tyre. 

2 Robert the Monk ; William of Tyre ; Guibert'of Nogent ; 
Albert of Aix. 3 Robert the Monk ; Guibert of Nogent. 



IIISTOItY OF CHIVALPcY. 



73 



who fix their enthusiasm on the virtues or the pru- 
dence of mankind, was driven almost to despair, by 
the folly and unworthiness of those, in whom he had 
placed his hopes. He nevertheless cast himself at the 
feet of the emperor Alexius, 1 and besought him, with 
tears and supplications, to send some forces to deliver 
the few crusaders who had escaped from the scimitar 
of the Turks. 

The monarch granted his request, and the little 
garrison of Civitot were brought in safety to Constanti- 
nople. After their arrival, however, Alexius ordered 
them to disperse, and return to their own country ; 
and with wise caution bought their arms before he 
dismissed them ; 2 thus at once supplying them with 
money for their journey, and depriving them of the 
means of plundering and ravaging his dominions as 
they went. Most of the historians 3 of that age accuse 
Alexius, of leaguing with the Turks, even at this period, 
to destroy the crusaders, or, at least, of triumphing in 
the fall of those very men, whom he had himself called 
to his succour. 

The conduct of Alexius in this transaction is not very 
clear, but it is far from improbable that, fearful of the 
undisciplined multitude he had brought into his do- 
minions, horrified by their crimes, and indignant at 
their pillage of his subjects, he beheld them fall by 
their own folly and the swords of the enemy, without 
any effort to defend them, or any very disagreeable 
feeling at their destruction. And indeed, when we 
remember the actions they did commit within the 
limits of the Greek empire, we can hardly wonder at 
the monarch, if he rejoiced at their punishment, or 
blame him, if he was indifferent to their fate. 

Thus ended the great expedition of Peter the Hermit; 

1 William of Tyre ; Albert of Aix. 

2 Robert the Monk ; Guibert of INogent. 3 Ibid. 



74 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



but several others of a similar unruly character, took 
place previous to the march of those troops, whose dis- 
cipline, valour, and unity of purpose, ensured a more 
favourable issue to their enterprise. I shall touch but 
briefly upon these mad and barbarous attempts, as a 
period of more interest follows. 

The body of crusaders which seems to have suc- 
ceeded immediately to that led by Peter the Hermit, 
was composed almost entirely of Germans, collected 
together by a priest called Gottschalk. 1 They pene- 
trated into Hungary ; but there, giving way to all man- 
ner of excesses, they were followed by Carloman, the 
king of that country, with a powerful army, and having 
been induced to lay down their arms, that the crimi- 
nals might be selected and punished, they were slaugh- 
tered indiscriminately by the Hungarians, who were 
not a little glad to take vengeance for the blood shed 
by the army of Peter, at Semlin. 

About the same period, immense bands of men and 
women, came forth from almost every country of 
Europe, with the symbol of the crusade upon their 
shoulders, and the pretence of serving God upon their 
lips. They joined together wheresoever they met, 
and, excited by a foul spirit of fanatical cruelty, 
mingled with the most infamous moral depravity, 
proceeded towards the south of Germany. They gave 
themselves up, we are told, 2 to the ' pleasures of the 
table without intermission : men and women, and even 
children, it is said, lived in a state of promiscuous de- 
bauchery ; and, preceded by a goose and a goat, 3 which 
in their mad fanaticism, they declared to be animated 
by the divine spirit, they marched onward, slaughter- 
ing the Jews as they went; and proclaiming, that the 
first duty of Christians was to exterminate the nation 

1 William of Tyre ; Albert of Aix. 

2 Albert Aquensis ; William of Tyre. 3 Albert of Aix. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



75 



which had rejected the Saviour himself. Several of the 
German bishops bravely opposed them, and endea- 
voured to protect the unhappy Hebrews ; but still, 
vast multitudes were slain, and many even sought 
self-destruction, rather than encounter the brutality of 
the fanatics, or abjure their religion. 

Glutted with slaughter, the ungodly herd now turn- 
ed towards Hungary ; but at Mersburg they were en- 
countered by a large Hungarian force, which disputed 
their passage over the Danube, absolutely refusing the 
road through that kingdom to any future band of cru- 
saders. The fanatics forced their way across the river, 
attacked Mersburg itself with great fury and perse- 
verance, and succeeded in making a breach in the 
walls, when suddenly, an unaccountable terror seized 
them — none knew how or why — they abandoned the 
siege, dispersed in dismay, and fled like scattered deer 
over the country. 

The Hungarians suffered not the opportunity to 
escape, and pursuing them on every side, smote them 
during many days with a merciless fury, that nothing 
but their own dreadful cruelties could palliate. The 
fields were strewed with dead bodies, the rivers flowed 
with blood, and the very waters of the Danube are 
said to have been hidden by the multitude of corpses. 

Disaster and death had, sooner or later, overtaken 
each body of the crusaders that had hitherto, without 
union or command, set out towards the Holy Land ; 
but each of these very bands had been composed of 
the refuse and dregs of the people. I do not mean by 
that word dregs the poor, but I mean the base — I do 
not mean those who were low in station, or even igno- 
rant in mind ; but I mean those who were infamous in 
crime, and brutal in desire. Doubtless, in these ex- 
peditions, some fell who were animated by noble mo- 
tives or excellent zeal ; but such were few compared 
with those whose objects were plunder, licentiousness, 
and vice. The swords of the Hungarians and the Turks 



76 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



lopped these away; and I cannot find in my heart to 
look upon the purification which Europe thus under- 
went with any thing like sorrow. The crusade itself 
was by this means freed from many a base and un- 
worthy member ; and Chivalry, left to act more in 
its own spirit, though still participating deeply in the 
faults and vices of a barbarous age, brought about a 
nobler epoch and a brighter event. 



HISTORY OF CHIVAtUY. 77 



CHAPTER V. 



THE CHIVALRY OF EUROPE TAKES THE FIELD— THE LEADERS— GODFREY OF 
BOUILLON— CONDUCTS HIS ARMY TOWARDS CONSTANTINOPLE — HUGH THE 
GREAT — LEADS HIS ARMY THROUGH ITALY— EMBARKS FOR DURAZZO — 
TAKEN PRISONER— LIBERATED— ROBERT, DUKE OF NORMANDY — WINTERS IN 
ITALY — ARRIVES AT CONSTANTINOPLE— ROBERT, COUNT OF FLANDERS — 
JOINS THE REST— BOEMOND OF TARENTUM— TANCRED — THEIR MARCH — 
DEFEAT THE GREEKS— BOEMOND DOES HOMAGE— TANCRED AVOIDS IT— 
THE COUNT OF TOULOUSE ARRIVES— REFUSES TO DO HOMAGE— ROBERT OF 
NORMANDY DOES HOMAGE. 

While the undisciplined and barbarous multitudes 
who first set out, were hurrying to destruction, various 
princes and leaders were engaged, as I have before said, 
in collecting the Chivalry of Europe under the banner 
ofthe cross. Six distinguished chiefs — Godfrey of Bouil- 
lon, Duke of Loraine — Hugh the Great, Count of 
Vermandois, and brother of Philip, King of France — 
Robert, Duke of Normandy, brother of William Rufus — 
Robert, Count of Flanders — Boemond, Prince of Ta- 
rentum — and Raimond, Count of Toulouse — conduct- 
ed six separate armies towards Constantinople : and 
I propose, in this chapter, to follow each of them till 
their junction in Bithynia. 

It is indeed a pleasure to turn our eyes, from scenes 
of horror and crime, to the contemplation of those great 
and shining qualities — those noble and enthusiastic 
virtues, which entered into the composition of that rare 
quintessence, the spirit of Chivalry. 

Doubtless, in the war which I am about to paint 



78 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



there occurred many things that are to be deeply re- 
gretted, as furnishing abundantly that quantity of alloy 
which is ever, unhappily, mixed with virtue's purest 
gold; but, at the same time, I now come to speak of 
men, in many of whom, splendid courage, and moral 
beauty, and religious zeal, and temperate wisdom, and 
generous magnanimity, combined to form the great 
and wonderful of this earth's children. Indeed, if ever 
there was a man who well merited the glorious name 
of a true knight, that man was Godfrey of Bouillon ; 
and few have described him without becoming poets 
for that once. 

I will not borrow from Tasso — who had the privi- 
lege of eulogium — but, in striving to paint the cha- 
racter of the great leader of the crusade, I shall take 
the words of one of the simplest of the writers of his 
age, 1 and give them as nearly as possible in their 
original tone: " He was beautiful in countenance," 
says Robert the Monk, " tall in stature, agreeable in 
his discourse, admirable in his morals, and at the same 
time so gentle, that he seemed better fitted for the monk 
than for the knight; but when his enemies appeared 
before him, and the combat approached, his soul be- 
came filled with mighty daring ; like a lion, he feared 
not for his person — and what shield, what buckler, 
could resist the fall of his sword ?" 

Perhaps of all men of the age, Godfrey of Bouillon 
was the most distinguished. His mother Ida, daughter 
of Godfrey, Duke of Loraine, was celebrated for her 
love of letters, 2 and from her it is probable that God- 
frey himself derived that taste for literature, so sin- 
gular amongst the warriors of that day. He spoke 
several languages, excelled in every chivalrous ex- 
ercise, was calm and deliberate in council, firm and 
decided in resolution ; he was active, clearsighted 

1 Robertas Monachus, lib. i. 3 Guibert of Nogent. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



79 



and prudent, while he was cool, frank, and daring ; 
in the battle he was fierce as the lion, but in victory 
he was moderate and humane. 

Though still in his prime of years when the crusades 
were preached, he was already old in exploits : he had 
upheld Henry IV, on the imperial throne, had attacked 
and forced the walls of Rome, and had shone in a 
hundred fields, where his standard ever was raised, 
upon the side of honour and of virtue. 

Long ere the idea of such an enterprise as the 
crusade, became general in Europe, Godfrey had often 
been heard to declare, when tales were brought him 
of the miseries of the Holy Land, that he longed to 
travel to Jerusalem, 1 not with staff and scrip, 2 but 
with spear and shield ; and it may well be conceived 
that his was one of the first standards, raised in the 
ranks of the cross. A fever, that had hung upon 
him for some time, left him at the tidings, and he felt 
as if he had shaken off a load of years, and reco- 
vered all his youth. 3 

His fame as a leader, soon collected an immense 
number of other barons and knights, who willingly 
ranged themselves under his banner; and we find 
that besides Baldwin, his brother 4 — and many other 
relations — the lords of St. Paul, of Hainault, of Gray, 
of Toul, of Hache, of Conti, and of Montagne, with 
their knights and retainers, had joined him before the 
beginning of August, 5 and towards the middle of that 
month they began their march with all the splendour 
of Chivalry. 6 

The progress of this new body of crusaders was 
directed, like that of Peter the Hermit, towards Hun- 
gary ; but the conduct maintained by the followers of 
Godfrey, was as remarkable for its strict discipline, 
moderation, and order, as that of his predecessors had 

1 Guibert of Nogent. 2 See note VIII. 

3 Will. Malmsbury. 4 Will, of Tyre ; Albert of Aix. 

5 Albert of Aix. 6 Guibert of Nogent. 



80 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



been for turbulence and excess. 1 The first objects, 
however, that presented themselves on the Hungarian 
frontier were the unburied corpses of the fanatic crowd 
slain near Mersburg. 

Here then Godfrey paused during three weeks, 2 in- 
vestigating calmly the causes of the bloody spectacle 
before him ; after which he wrote to Carloman, King 
of Hungary ; and his letter on this occasion, mingling 
firmness with moderation, gives a fair picture of his 
noble and dignified character. Having mentioned the 
horrible sight which had arrested him in his progress, 
and the rumours he had heard, he proceeds — " How- 
ever severe may have been the punishment inflicted 
on our brethren, whose remains lie round about us, 
if that punishment was merited, our anger shall ex- 
pire ; but if, on the contrary, you have calumniated 
the innocent, and given them up to death, we will not 
pass over in silence the murder of the servants of God, 
but will instantly show ourselves ready to avenge the 
blood of our brethren." 3 

It was easy for Carloman to prove that the aggres- 
sion had been on the side of the crusaders ; and after 
various acts of confidence between Godfrey 4 and the 
king ? the army of the cross was permitted to pass 
through Hungary, which they accomplished in safety 
and peace, maintaining the strictest discipline and 
regularity, and trading with the people of the country 
w r ith good faith and courtesy. Hence, proceeding 
through Bulgaria and Thrace, Godfrey led his troops 
peacefully on to Philippopoli, where he was met by 
deputies from the emperor, charged with orders to see 
that the crusaders should be furnished with every 
kind of necessary provision. 

In passing through Dacia and Bulgaria, the army 
of Godfrey had been not a little 5 straightened for food, 



1 Guibert ; Will. Tyr. 2 Albert of Aix. 3 William of Tyre. 
4 Albert of Aix. 5 Albert Aquensis. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



81 



and it is impossible to say what might have been the 
consequences, had the same dearth been suffered to 
continue. The prudent conduct of the emperor, did 
away all cause of violence, and, after the arrival of his 
deputies, the troops of the cross celebrated his liber- 
ality with joy and gratitude. 

News soon reached the army 1 of Godfrey, however, 
which changed their opinion of Alexius, and showed 
him as the subtle and treacherous being, that he really 
was. To explain what this news consisted of, I must 
turn for a moment to another party of crusaders, who, 
while Godfrey pursued his peaceful course through 
Hungary, marched towards the general meeting-place 
at Constantinople, by the way of Italy. 

Hugh, Count of Vermandois, had assembled an army 
even superior in number to that of Godfrey of Bouil- 
lon, and was himself in every respect calculated to 
shine at the head of such an armament. He was 
gallant, 2 brave, handsome, and talented ; but the calm 
and dignified spirit of moderation, which so charac- 
terized Godfrey of Bouillon, was wanting in the brother 
of the French king. Joined to his expedition, though 
marching in separate bodies, and at distinct times, 3 
were the troops of Robert, Duke of Normandy, and 
Stephen, Count of Blois ; with those of Robert, Count 
of Flanders, in another division. 4 

1 Will. Tyr. ; Albert. Aquens. 2 Guibert. 

3 Fulcher ; Guibert ; Will. Tyr. ; Albert. 

4 I have taken perhaps more pains than was necessary to in- 
vestigate this part of the crusader's proceedings, which I found 
nearly as much confused in the writings of Mills, as in those of 
the contemporary authors. Some assert that the whole mass of 
the western crusaders proceeded in one body through Italy : but 
finding that Fulcher, who accompanied Robert of Normandy and 
Stephen of Blois, never mentions Hugh of Vermandois ; that 
Guibert speaks of that prince's departure first ; that the Arch- 
bishop of Tyre marks the divisions distinctly, and that he cer- 
tainly embarked at a different port in Italy from the rest, I have 
been led to conclude that, though probably looking up to Husrh 
as the brother of their sovereign, the three great leaders pro- 



82 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



The Count of Vermandois, impetuous and proud, 
took his departure before his companions, traversed 
Italy, and embarking at Barri, landed with but a 
scanty train at Durazzo. His expectations were high, 
and his language haughty, supposing he should find 
in the Greek emperor, the same humbled supplicant 
who had craved, in abject terms, assistance against 
the infidels, from his Christian brethren of the west. 
But the position of the emperor had now changed. 
The Turks, occupied with other interests, no longer 
menaced his frontier. The imperial city slept in peace 
and splendour ; and if he had any thing to fear, it 
was from his own restless and turbulent subjects 
rather than from his Saracen foes. Nor, in fact, had 
he ever been desirous of any thing like the expedition 
that was entering his dominions. He had prayed for 
aid and assistance to defend his country, but Urban 
had preached a crusade, and the princes were now in 
arms to re-conquer the Christian territories in Asia, 
as well as to protect those of Europe. He had gladly 
heard of the crusade, and willingly consented to it, it 
is true, as he well knew it would afford a mighty diver- 
sion in his favour, but he then dreamed not of the armed 
millions that were now swarming towards his capital. 
His position, too, had changed, as I have said, and he 
immediately determined upon a line of policy, well 
suited to the weak subtlety of his character. 

Alexius was one of those men whose minds are not 
of sufficient scope to view life as a whole, and who 
therefore have not one great object in their deeds; 
who act for the petty interests of the moment, and 
whose cunning, compared with the talents of a really 
great mind, is like the skill of a fencing-master com- 
pared with the genius of a great general. He saw not, 

ceeded separately on their march. Rohertus Monachus is evi- 
dently mistaken altogether, as he joins the Count of Toulouse 
with the army of Hugh, when we know from Raimond d'Agiles 
that that nobleman conducted his troops through Sclavonia 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



83 



and felt not, the vast ultimate benefit which he might 
receive, from maintaining a dignified friendship with 
the princes commanding the crusade. He did not 
perceive what an immense and powerful engine was 
placed, if he chose it, at his disposition. In his nar- 
row selfishness, he only beheld a temporary danger 
from the great forces that were approaching, and he 
strove to diminish them by every base and petty arti- 
fice. He did not endeavour to make himself great by 
their means, but he tried to bring them down to his 
own littleness. It is true that on some occasions he 
showed feelings of liberality and humanity; but from 
his general conduct it is but fair to infer that these 
were the inconsistences of selfishness; and that though 
he was sometimes prudent enough to be liberal, he 
was not wise enough to be uniformly generous. 

On the arrival of Hugh at Durazzo, he was at first 
received with respect, and entertained with honour and 
profusion ; and thus finding himself at ease, he was 
induced to remain for a time in confident security. 
Suddenly, however, without a pretence for such vio- 
lence, he was arrested, together with his train, and 
sent to Constantinople, some authors say, in chains. 1 

Nevertheless, it is not probable that Alexius dared 
to carry his inhospitality so far ; and one of the histo- 
rians 2 of the day particularly marks, that the prisoner 
was treated with every testimony of respect. Guibert 
also ventures a supposition respecting the motives of 
Alexius, far superior to the general steril course of 
ancient chronicles. He imagines — and I wonder that 
the idea has not been adopted by any one — that the 
object of the Greek emperor, in confining Hugh, was 
to obtain from him, before the other princes should 
arrive, that act of homage which he intended to exact 
from all. The brother of the King of France himself 
having taken the oath, would be so strong a precedent, 

1 Albert of Aix ; William of Tyre. Guibert. 
G 2 



84 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



that it is more than probable, Alexius » fancied the 
rest of the crusaders would easily agree to do that 
which their superior in rank, had done previous to 
their arrival. 

At Philippopoli 2 the news of Hugh's imprisonment 
reached the army of Godfrey de Bouillon, and with 
the prompt but prudent firmness of that great leader's 
character, he instantly sent messengers to Alexius, 
demanding the immediate liberation of the Count of 
Vermandois and his companions, accompanying the 
message with a threat of hostilities, if the demand were 
not conceded. 

Godfrey then marched on to Adrianople,3 where he 
was met by his deputies, bringing the refusal of the em- 
peror to comply with his request : in consequence of 
which the country was instantly given up to pillage; and 
so signal were the effects of this sort of vengeance, that 
Alexius speedily found himself forced to put his pri- 
soners at liberty. The moment that a promise to this 
effect was received, Godfrey recalled his forces; and 
with wonderful discipline and subordination, they in- 
stantly abandoned the ravages they were before licensed 
to commit, and marched on peacefully towards Con- 
stantinople. Had the armies of the cross continued 
to show such obedience and moderation, Palestine 
would now have been Christian. 

In the neighbourhood of the imperial city, Godfrey 
pitched his tents, and the innumerable 4 multitude of 
his steel-clad warriors, struck terror into the heart of 
the fearful monarch of the east. 3 To the Count of 
Vermandois, however, it was a sight of joy ; and issuing 
forth from Constantinople with his friends and follow- 
ers, he galloped forward to the immense camp of the 
crusaders, where casting himself into the arms of God- 

1 Guibert, lib. ii. 2 Will. Tyr. lib. ii. 

8 Albert of Aix ; William of Tyre. 4 Albert of Aix. 

* Guibert. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



35 



frey, 1 he gave himself up to such transports of delight 
and gratitude, that the bystanders were moved to 
tears. 

The emperor now turned the whole force of his 
artful mind to wring from Godfrey an act of homage, 
and for several weeks he continued, by every sort of 
fluctuating baseness, to disturb his repose, and to irri- 
tate his followers. At one time, he was all professions 
of kindness and liberality; at another, he breathed 
nothing but warfare and opposition. Sometimes the 
markets were shut to the crusaders, sometimes the 
private stores of the emperor himself were opened. 

At length, after having twice defeated the bands of 
plunderers sent by Alexius to attack him, 2 Godfrey 
gave way to his wrath, and for six days successively 
ravaged the country round Constantinople with fire 
and sword. Alexius, on this, again changed his con- 
duct, and with every profession of regard demanded 
an interview with the chief of the crusaders, offering 
his son as a hostage for his good faith. With this 
safeguard Godfrey, followed by several other noble 
knights, entered Constantinople, and proceeded to 
the imperial palace, clothed in his robes of peaces 
and bearing purple and ermine and gold, instead of 
the iron panoply of war. 4 

1 Albert of Aix ; Robertus Monaclms ; Will. Tyr, 

2 Will. Tyr. ; Rob. Mon. ; Guibert ; Albert. Aquens, 

3 Albert of Aix. 

4 Mills, in speaking of this interview, does not distinguish 
between the coat of arms and the mantle or pallium. They were, 
however, very different, and never, that I know of, worn to- 
gether. The coat of arms was usually extremely small ; and the 
form may be gathered from the anecdote of an ancient baron, 
who not readily finding his coat of arms, seized the cloth of a ban- 
ner, made a slit in the centre with his sword, and passing his head 
through the aperture, thus went to battle. These customs how- 
ever often changed, and we find many instances of the coat of 
arms being worn long. The mantle was the garb of peace, and 
was even more richly decorated than the coat of arms. Another 
peaceful habiliment was the common surcoat, which differed 



86 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



The great leader was received by the emperor with 
the highest distinction, was honoured with the kiss of 
peace, and underwent that curious ceremony of an 
adoption of honour (as it was then called) as son to 
the emperor. 1 He was clothed with imperial robes, 2 
and the monarch calling him his son, nominally placed 
his empire at Godfrey's disposal. In return for the 
distinctions he had received — and probably pressed 
by Hugh, Count of Vermandois, who loved not to 
stand alone, in having yielded homage to Alexius — 
Godfrey consented to give the emperor his hand, ac- 
cording to the feudal forms of France, and to declare 
himself his liegeman. 

His fears dissipated by this concession, and his 
hopes of winning the princes who were to follow, by 
so illustrious an example, raised to the highest pitch, 
Alexius loaded Godfrey and his followers with mag- 
totally from the tunic worn over the armour, having large 
sleeves and cuffs, as we find from the notes upon Joinville. The 
size of this garment may be very nearly ascertained from the same 
account, which mentions 736 ermines having been used in one 
surcoat worn by the King of France. See Joinville by Du- 
cange. 

For the use of the pallium, or mantle, see St. Palaye — notes 
on the fourth part. 

1 I have not chosen to represent this interview in the colours 
with which Mills has painted it. The princess Anna, from whom 
he took his view of the subject, can in no degree be depended 
upon. Her object was to represent her father as a dignified 
monarch, receiving, with cold pomp, a train of barbarous war- 
riors ; but the truth was, that Alexius was in no slight measure 
terrified at Godfrey and his host, and sought by every means to 
cajole him into compliance with his wishes. Almost ever} 7 other 
historian declares that the crusaders were received with the 
utmost condescension and courtesy. Robert of Paris, one of 
Godfrey's noble followers, did indeed seat himself on the throne 
of Alexius, and replied to Baldwin's remonstrance by a brag- 
gart boast, for which the emperor only reproved him by a con- 
temptuous sneer. This, however, would, if any thing, prove 
that the pride and haughtiness was on the part of the crusaders 
Tather than'on that of the imperial court. 

* Albert of Aix ; William of Tyre. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



87 



niflcent presents, and suffered them to depart. Peace 
was now permitted to remain unbroken ; and after 
having refreshed themselves for some days, the army 
of the crusaders passed the Hellespont, and encamped 
at Chalcedon, 1 to wait the arrival of their brethren. 

It is more than probable that Godfrey was induced 
to quit the original place of rendezvous by the solicit- 
ations of Alexius, who took care, it has been since 
observed, to guard his capital from the presence of 
any two of the crusading hosts at one time. 

Boemond, prince of Tarentum, and son of the 
famous Guiscard, had quitted Italy shortly after the 
departure of Godfrey from Loraine. Various tales 
are told of the manner in which he first declared his 
purpose of joining the crusade. Some have asserted, 
that on hearing of the expedition, while engaged in 
the siege of Amalfi, he dashed his armour to pieces 
with his battle-axe, 2 and caused it to be formed into 
small crosses, which he distributed among his soldiery. 
Others reduce the anecdote to a less chivalrous, but 
perhaps more civilized degree of energy, and state, 
that he caused his mantle to be cut into crosses for 
his troops. 3 

As many relate the tale, it is likely to have had some 
foundation; and there is no doubt that Boemond aban- 
doned all his vast possessions in Italy, with the re- 
serve only of Tarentum, and devoted himself to the 
wars of the cross. His presence might have proved 
more generally advantageous to the cause, had he not, 
by this enthusiastic renunciation, given himself other 
motives in the warfare before him, besides those of 
religion and humanity. He had naturally in his veins 
quite sufficient of the blood of Guiscard, to require no 
additional stimulus to the desire of conquering for 
himself. He was nevertheless one of the best soldiers 
of the cross, so far as military skill availed — bold, 



1 Albert of Aix. 8 Vertot. 8 Robert the Monk. 



88 



history of Chivalry. 



powerful, keen, and active ; and possessing that sort 
of shrewd and even wily art, which, joined with 
his other qualities, formed an enterprising and suc- 
cessful leader, more perhaps than a distinguished 
knight. 

With him, however, came the noblest of all the 
Christian Chivalry, :Tancred — whose valour, genero- 
sity, enthusiasm and courtesy, have been the theme of 
so many a song — of whom Tasso, in seeking to de- 
scribe him in the highest language of poetry, could 
say nothing more than truth, 

Vien poi Tancredi, e non e alcun fra tanti 
Tranne Rinaldo — O feritor maggiore, 
O piu bel di maniere e di sembianti 
O piu eccelso ed entrepido di core. 1 

Few characters can be conceived more opposed to 
each other than those of the relations, 2 Tancred and 
Boemond ; and yet we find Tancred willingly serving 
in the army of the Prince of Tarentum, as second to 
that chief. The same unambitious modesty is to be 
discovered throughout the whole history of the young 
knight ; and though we ever behold him opposed to 
meannesses, by whomsoever they may be adopted, we 
still see him willing to take upon himself, the danger 
and labour of an inferior station. 

Under the banners of these chiefs marched a host 
of Italian and Norman nobles ; the army, it is said, 
amounting to ten thousand horse, 3 and an immense 
multitude of foot, in which view of the forces we must 
remember, that only men of noble birth were usually 

1 Gerusalemme, cant. i. 

a What the relationship exactly was I have not been able to 
discover. Mills does not satisfy me that the mother of Tancred 
was the sister of Robert Guiscard. The expressions of Ralph of 
Caen on the subject appear to be obscure. 

3 Albert of Aix. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



89 



admitted to fight on horseback. 1 These troops were 
even increased as they marched to the sea-coast of 
Apulia; and the great body of those Normans who, 
not a century before, had taken complete possession of 
the country, now left it for the Holy Land. 

Mills, 2 following his particular theory, supposes 
Urban the pope to smile with triumphant self-gratula- 
tion, on seeing the army of Boemond depart; but it 
seems strange, that the prelate should rejoice in the 
absence of the very men by whom he had been always 
protected, while his enemies remained, and were even 
in possession of the old church of St. Peter 3 at Rome, 
as we learn by a contemporary crusader. 

The forces of Boemond and Tancred landed at 
Durazzo, and made their way with much more regu- 
larity than could have been expected, through Epirus. 4 
They were harassed, however, on their march by various 
skirmishes with the Greek troops, who did every thing 
in their power to destroy the crusading army, although 
Alexius 5 had sent messengers to Boemond himself 
congratulating him on his arrival, and promising every 
kind of assistance. These attacks, nevertheless, only 
amounted to a petty degree of annoyance, till the host 
of the cross came to the passage of the Axius. Here, 
a part of the forces having traversed the river with 
almost the whole of the cavalry, the rear of the army 
was suddenly attacked by an infinitely superior body 
of Greeks. 6 

Tancred, already on the other side, lost not a 
moment, but, spurring his horse into the water, fol- 
lowed by about two thousand knights, he charged 
the Greeks so vigorously, as to drive them back with 
considerable loss in killed and prisoners. When brought 
before Boemond, the captives justified themselves by 
avouching the commands of the emperor, and Tancred 

1 St. Palaye. 2 Mills, chap. 3. 8 Fulcher. 

4 Raoul de Caen. 5 William of Tyre. 

6 Raoul de Caen ; William of Tyre ; Albert of Aix ; Guibert, 



90 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



would fain have pursued and exterminated the forces 
of the perfidious Greek. Boemond, however, more 
prudently forbore, and, without retaliation of any kind, 
advanced to Adrianople. 

I see no reason to qualify this moderation as subtilty, 
which Mills has not scrupled to do. Boemond was 
artful beyond all doubt, but this was not a fair instance 
of any thing but wisdom and self-command. At 
Adrianople, well knowing the character of Alexius, to 
whom he had frequently been opposed, and foreseeing 
that his troops might be irritated by various acts of 
annoyance, 1 Boemond drew up his army, and, in a 
calm and temperate speech, represented to them that 
they had taken up arms in the cause of Christ, and 
therefore, that it was their duty to refrain from all acts 
of hostility towards their fellow-christians. 

Shortly after this, the Prince of Tarentum was met 
by deputies from the emperor, inviting him to come 
on with all speed to Constantinople, leaving his army 
behind, under the command of Tancred. Boemond 
at first refused to trust himself in the power of his 
ancient enemy, 2 but Godfrey of Bouillon having vi- 
sited him in person, and guaranteed his security, the 
Italian chief agreed to the arrangement proposed, 
and accompanied the Duke of Loraine to the imperial 
palace. Gold and dominion were always motives of 
great force with the mind of Boemond, and Alexius did 
not spare such temptations, either present or to come, 
for the purpose of inducing the Prince of Tarentum 
to do homage to the eastern empire. His promises 
were limitless, and the actual presents 3 which he heaped 
upon the Normo- Italian, immense. He also granted 
him, it is said, a territory in Romania, consisting, in 

1 Orderic. Vital, lib. ix. 

2 Boemond had inherited all his father's hatred to the Greek 
sovereigns, and had waged many a bloody and successful war 
against Alexius himself. 

* Will. Tyr.; Albert. Aquens. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



91 



length, of as much ground as a horse could travel in 
fifteen days; and, in breadth, 1 of as much as could be 
traversed in eight; besides which, he loaded him with 
jewels and gold, and rich vestments, till Boemond, from 
one of his most inveterate enemies, became one of his 
firmest allies. This, indeed, proceeded from no con- 
fidence or friendship on either side. Boemond still felt 
how little Alexius could forgive the injuries he had in 
former days inflicted, and dared not trust himself to eat 
of the meat set before him at the emperor's table. 

Alexius, with all the penetration of his race, evi- 
dently dived into the Norman's thoughts, and saw that 
he aspired even to the imperial crown itself. 2 No reli- 
ance, therefore, existed between them ; but on the one 
hand Boemond, for considerations of interest, forgot 
his dignity, and did homage to the emperor, while 
Alexius, on his part, agreed that the homage should 
be void, if the promises he made were not exactly 
fulfilled. 3 

The news of his relation's humiliation soon reached 
Tancred, who was leading on their united forces to- 
wards Constantinople ; and though unquestionably, the 
lamentation attributed to him by his biographer 4 is 
somewhat more poetical than real, little doubt can be 
entertained that the gallant prince was painfully struck 
by Boemond's disgraceful concessions. Hugh of 
Vermandois had done homage to obtain his liberty ; 
Godfrey of Bouillon, to restore peace and unanimity 
between the Christian emperor and the crusaders ; 
Boemond sold his homage, with no palliating circum- 
stance. 

The determination of Tancred seems to have been 
taken almost immediately on hearing this news, and 
marching upon Constantinople as if it were his inten- 
tion to follow exactly the course of his relation, he 

1 Raoul de Caen ; Guibert. 2 Alexiad par Ducange. 
8 Guibert. lib. iii. 4 Radulph. Cad. cap. 11. 



♦ 



92 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



suddenly crossed the Hellespont « without giving 
notice to any one, and joined the army of Godfrey at 
Chalcedon. 2 

This conduct greatly irritated Alexius, and he made 
several efforts to bring Tancred back without success ; 
but the arrival of Raimond de St. Gilles, Count of 
Toulouse, with the immense army of the Languedocian 
crusaders, soon called the attention of the emperor in 
another direction. The Count of Toulouse has been 
very variously represented, and no doubt can exist 
that he was a bold and skilful leader, a courageous 
and resolute man. He was, it is said, intolerant and 
tenacious of reverence, fond of pomp and display, 
and withal revengeful, though his revenge was always 
of a bold and open character. Not so his avarice, 
which led him to commit as many pitiful meannesses 
as ever sprang from that basest of desires. He was 
proud, too, beyond all question ; but, where his co- 
vetousness did not overbalance the other great prin- 
ciple of his nature, he maintained, in his general 
conduct, that line of moral firmness which dignifies 
pride, and raises it almost to a virtue. 

Under the banners of the Count of Toulouse, 
marched the gay Chivalry of all the South of France — 
Gascons, and Provencals, and Auvergnats — people, in 
whose hearts, the memory of Saracen invasions from 
Spain, was still fresh; and whose quick and passionate 
dispositions had at once embraced with enthusiasm the 

1 Radulph. Cadom. cap. 12. 

2 Albertus Aquensis says that Tancred took with him the 
whole army. William of Tyre follows the same opinion, as well 
as Guibert. Order ic Vital declares that when the troops were 
passing, Tancred dressed himself as a common soldier, and 
passed amongst the crowd, but Radulphus Cadomensis (or 
Raoul of Caen, as the French translate his name), who was his 
companion and friend in after years, makes no mention of his 
having taken with him any part of the forces he commanded, 
merely stating that in his eagerness to pass before he was dis- 
covered, he aided to row the boat himself. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



93 



holy war. A glorious train of lords and knights fol- 
lowed their noble chief, and the legate of the pope, as 
well as several other bishops, gave religious dignity to 
this body of the crusaders. 

The count directed his course by Sclavonia towards 
Greece, notwithstanding that the season was unfavour- 
able, as he set out in winter. 1 During the journey 
he displayed, in the highest degree, every quality 
of a great commander. Innumerable difficulties, on 
which we cannot pause, assailed him even during the 
first part of his march, through the barren and inhos- 
pitable passes, which lay between his own fair land 
and Greece. When he had reached the dominions of 
Alexius, whose call for aid he had not forgotten, the 
count imagined, to use the words of his chaplain, that 
he was in his native land, so much did he rely upon 
the welcome and protection of the Greek emperor. 
But he, like the chiefs who had preceded him, was 
deceived, and the same series of harassing persecu- 
tions awaited him on the way. An act of season- 
able, 2 but barbarous vengeance, however, in mutilat- 
ing and disfiguring several of the prisoners, so much 
frightened the savage hordes which the emperor had 
cast upon his track, that the rest of the journey 
passed in comparative tranquillity. Like those who 
had gone before, the count was permitted to enter the 
imperial city, with but few attendants. 

Here the same proposal of rendering homage was 
made to Raimond, which had been addressed to the 
other leaders of the crusade, but he rejected it at once 
with dignified indignation, and maintained his resolu- 
tion with unalterable firmness. 3 The means which had 
been tried with Godfrey of Bouillon were now em- 
ployed against the Count of Toulouse ; and as no very 
strong body of crusaders was soon expected from 
Europe, the emperor seems confidently to have anti- 



1 Raimond d'Agilcs. * Ibid. 5 Ibid. ; Will. Tyr. ; Guibert. 



94 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



cipated the destruction of the Languedocian force. 
The Bosphorus lay between it and the armies of God- 
frey, of Hugh, of Boemond, and of Robert of Flan- 
ders, 1 whose arrival we have not thought it necessary 
to dwell upon, as it was accompanied by no circum- 
stance of interest. Alexius had taken especial care, 
that no vessels should remain on the other side of the 
Straits, which would facilitate the return of the cru- 
saders even if they should wish it, 2 and Boemond was 
devoted to his cause from motives of interest. 

Under these circumstances Alexius did not scruple 
to order a night attack to be made upon the camp of 
the French knights. At first it proved successful, and 
many fell under the treacherous sword of the Greeks. 
At length, however, the Languedocians recovered from 
their surprise, repulsed the enemy with great loss, and 
for some time gave full way to their indignation. Rai- 
mond even resolved to declare war against the empe- 
ror, but abandoned his intention on finding that the 
other princes would not succour him, and that Boe- 
mond threatened to join his arms to those of Alexius. 
Thus upheld, the emperor still continued to insist on 
the homage of the count ; but Raimond declared that 
he would sooner lay down his head upon the block 
than yield to such an indignity. 3 " He had come," 4 
he said, " to fight for one Lord, which was Christ, 
and for him he had abandoned country, and goods, 
and lands, but no other lord would he acknow- 
ledge ; though, if the emperor would, in person, 
lead the host towards Constantinople, he would will- 
ingly put himself and his troops under his august 
command. " 

All that could ultimately be obtained from him, 
even at the intercession of his companions in arms, 
was a vow that he would, neither directly nor indirectly, 

1 Guibert ; Albert of Aix. 2 Will. Tyr. 

8 Guibert. 4 Raimond d'Agiles. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



95 



do any act which could militate against the life or 
honour of the emperor. 1 

This concession, however, seemed to satisfy Alexius, 
upon whose weakness the ambitious spirit of Boemond 
was pressing somewhat too hard. The power of Rai- 
mond of Toulouse, the monarch saw, might be used as 
a good counterpoise to the authority which the Prince 
of Tarentum was inclined to assume, and in conse- 
quence, Alexius soon completely changed his conduct, 
and loaded the count with distinctions and courtesy. 
T*he pleasures of the imperial palace, the rivalry which 
the artful emperor contrived to raise up between him 
and Boemond, and the false but polished society of the 
Greek court, excited and pleased the Count of Tou- 
louse, who remained some time in the midst of pomp 
and enjoyment. 

His character also, though it had much of the 
steady firmness of the north, had, in common with that 
of his countrymen in general, a sparkling and vivacious 
urbanity, a splendid yet easy grace, which suited the 
taste of the Greeks much more than the simple manners 
of the northern crusaders. Indeed to judge from the 
terms in which she speaks of him, his handsome person 
and elegant deportment, seem to have made no small 
impression on the imagination of the princess Anna, 2 
although Raimond had already passed the middle age. 

Boemond, however, had by this time departed, and 
had marched from Chalceclon with Godfrey and the 
rest of the crusading host 3 towards Nice, the capital 
of the Turkish kingdom of Roum. 4 His honour de- 
manded the presence of the Count of Toulouse, and 

1 Guibert ; Raimond ; Will. Tyr. 2 Alexiad. 

3 Raimond d'Agiles ; Albert of Aix. 

4 . Raimond d'Agiles expressly states that the army of the 
Count of Toulouse, which he accompanied to the Holy Land, did 
not join the other crusaders till they were under the walls of 
Nice. Mills is therefore wrong in writing that the Provencals 
joined the other soldiers of the cross before their arrival at 
Nice, and then let them march on again before them. 



96 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



abandoning the pleasures of Constantinople, he super- 
intended the embarkation of his troops, and hastened 
to join the rest of his companions in arms. 

Scarcely had the forces of the count quitted Con- 
stantinople, when another army appeared under the 
walls of that city. Its principal leader was Robert, 
Duke of Normandy — a man, debauched, weak, and un- 
stable; endowed with sufficient talents to have dignified 
his illustrious station, had he possessed that rare quality 
of mind which may be called conduct. He was elo- 
quent in speech, brave in the field, skilful in warlike 
dispositions, and personally humane, even to excess ; l 
but at the same time he was versatile as the winds, and 
so easily persuaded, that the common expression, he 
had no will of his own, was, perhaps, more applicable 
to him, than to any other man that ever existed. 

On the first preaching of the crusade, he had caught 
the flame of enthusiasm with others, and perhaps not 
more than those around him ; for we must not take 
the immediate sale of his duchy of Normandy to Wil- 
liam Rufus, as a proof of his zeal. It was, in fact, but a 
proof of that wretched facility which ultimately brought 
about his ruin. The price he obtained, 2 was only ten 
thousand marks of silver, but with so petty a sum this 
modern Esau thought he could conquer worlds. With 
him was Stephen, Count of Blois, more famous in the 
council than the field, 3 while all the Norman and 
English crusaders of rank, together with Eustace, 
brother of Godfrey of Bouillon, 4 joined themselves to 
his forces. 

Thus, followed by a numerous and well-equipped 
army, Robert took the way of Italy, and having en- 
countered the pope at Lucca, proceeded to Apulia, 
where he remained to pass the winter. Here, how- 
ever, 5 many deserted his army, and returned to their 

1 Guibert, lib. ii. * Orderic. Vital. 8 Guibert. 

4 William of Tyre \ Albert of Aix. * Fulcher. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



97 



native land, and several were drowned, subsequently, 
in their passage to Durazzo ; but, on the whole, the 
march of Robert of Normandy, was more easy and 
less disastrous than that of any other chief of the 
crusaders. 

We find no mention of any attack or annoyance 
on the part of Alexius; and, on the arrival of the Nor- 
man host at Constantinople, the oath of homage seems 
to have been presented and received, with a sort of 
quiet indifference, well according with the indolent and 
careless character of the Duke. 1 Alexius simply in- 
formed the leaders, that Godfrey, Boemond, Hugh, 
and the rest, had undergone the ceremony proposed. 
" We are not greater than they," 2 replied Robert, and 
the vows were taken without hesitation. 

Loaded with presents, and supplied with money and 
provisions, of both which, Robert stood in great want, 
the Norman crusaders now passed the Hellespont, and 
marched towards Nice to join their companions. The 
timid Alexius thus found himself delivered from the 
last body of these terrific allies ; and, indeed, the de- 
scription given of their arrival, in rapid succession, 
before Constantinople, is not at all unlike the end of 
Camaralzaman's history in the Arabian Nights, where 
no sooner is one army disposed of, than another is 
seen advancing towards the city from a different quar- 
ter of the globe. 

1 Albert of Aix ; Fulclier. 2 Will. Tyr. 



II 



98 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



CHAPTER VI. 



GERM OF AFTER- MISFORTUNES ALREADY SPRINGING UP IN THE CRUSADE- 
SIEGE OF NICE— FIRST ENGAGEMENT WITH THE TURKS— SIEGE CONTINUED— 
THE LAKE OCCUPIED— SURRENDER OF NICE TO THE EMISSARIES OF ALEXIUS 
—DISCONTENT— MARCH TOWARDS ANTIOCH— THE ARMY DIVIDES INTO TWO 
BODIES— BATTLE OF DORYLOEUM— DREADFUL MARCH THROUGH PHRYGIA — 
ADVENTURES OF BALDWIN AND TANCRED— ARRIVAL AT ANTIOCH— THE CITY 
INVESTED. 

One of the most unfortunate events which oc- 
curred to the crusaders in their march, was their stay 
at Constantinople, for it was the remote, but certain 
cause of many other evils. The jealousies and differ- 
ences raised up amongst them by the intriguing spirit 
of Alexius, were never entirely done away ; and be- 
sides this, the intervention of petty motives, long 
discussions, and schemes of individual aggrandize- 
ment, chilled the fervour of zeal, and thus weighed 
down the most energetic spring of the enterprise. 

Enthusiasm will conquer difficulties, confront dan- 
ger and death, and change the very nature of the 
circumstances in w T hich it is placed, to encouragement 
and hope ; but it will not bear to be mingled with less 
elevated feelings and considerations. The common 
ambitions and passions of life, cold reasonings, and 
thoughtful debates, deaden it, and put it out ; and 
amidst the intrigues of interest, or the speculations of 
selfishness, it is extinguished like a flame in the foul 
air of a vault. A great deal of the enthusiasm of the 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



99 



crusade died away amidst the bickerings of Constan- 
tinople; and even the cowardly effeminacy of the 
Greeks, proved in some degree contagious, for the 
army of the Count of Toulouse, we find, had at one 
time, nearly disbanded itself. The luxury of the most 
luxurious court of Europe, too, was not without its 
effect upon the crusaders, and the memory of the 
delights of the imperial city was more likely to afford 
subjects of disadvantageous comparisons, when op- 
posed to the hardships of Palestine, than the remem- 
brance of the turbulent and governless realm from 
which they had first begun their march. 

The greatest misfortune of all, however — the cause 
of many of their vices, and almost all their miseries, 
was the want, of one acknowledged leader, whom it 
would have been treason to disobey. Each chief was 
his own king, but he was not the king of even those 
who served under him. Many who had followed his 
banner to the field were nearly his equals in power, 
and it was only over his immediate vassals that he 
had any but conditional right of command. In respect 
to his vassals themselves, this right was much affected 
by circumstances ; and over the chiefs around him, he 
had no control whatever. Thus, unity of design was 
never to be obtained ; and discord, the fatal stumbling- 
block of all great undertakings, was always ready in 
the way, whenever the folly, the passions, or the sel- 
fishness of any individual leader, chose to dash upon 
it, the hopes of himself and his companions. 

Nevertheless, during the siege of Nice, which was the 
first undertaking of the crusaders, a considerable de- 
gree of harmony seems to have prevailed amongst the 
leaders. Each, it is true, conducted his part of the 
attack according to his own principles, but each 
seemed happy to assist the other, and we hear of no 
wrangling for idle punctilios. The morals, too, of 
the troops were hitherto pure, reaching a much higher 



100 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



point of virtue, indeed, than might have been antici- 
pated, from the great mixture of classes. I do not 
mean to say that they were free from vice, or were 
exempt from the follies of their nature or their age ; 
but the noble and dignified manner in which the 
chiefs of the crusade, and the people in general, 
bore the conduct of Alexius (mentioned hereafter), 
would lead me to believe that they had preserved 
a considerable share of purity and singleness of 
heart. 

The first body of the crusaders which reached the 
city of Nice, was that led by Godfrey of Bouillon. He 
was not alone, however, being accompanied by Hugh, 
Count of Vermandois ; and very shortly after, the 
troops of Robert of Flanders and Boemond of Taren- 
tum arrived, and took up their position on the north- 
ern side, while those of Godfrey had marked their 
camp towards the east. The Count of Toulouse and 
the Bishop of Puy followed, and sat down before the 
southern side, 1 leaving the west open for the Duke of 
Normandy, who was expected from day to day. 2 

This city, the capital of the kingdom of Roum, was 
occupied by the Seljukian Turks, and strongly de- 
fended by a solid wall, flanked by three hundred and 
fifty towers. It was situated in the midst of a fertile 
plain, and the waters of the lake Ascanius, to the west, 
gave it a facility of communication with a large extent 
of country. The army of the crusaders, after the 

1 Raimond d'Agiles ; Guibert. 

2 All authors, those who were present as well as those who 
wrote from the accounts of others, differ entirely amongst them- 
selves concerning- the dispositions of the siege. Fulcher, who 
accompanied the Duke of Normandy, says that that chief attack- 
ed the south ; Raimond of Agiles, who was present also, says that 
the south was the post of the Count of Toulouse. I have how- 
ever adopted the account of Raimond, who appears to me to 
have paid more attention to the operations of the war than 
Fulcher. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



101 



arrival of the Count of Toulouse, 1 waited not the 
coming of Robert of Normandy, but began the siege 
in form. Their forces were already immense ; and 
after the junction of Peter the Hermit with the 
ruins of his multitude, and the Duke of Normandy 
with his powerful army, the amount of the fighting 
men is said to have been six hundred thousand, with- 
out comprising those who did not carry arms. 2 The 
number of knights 3 is stated to have reached nearly 
two hundred thousand, which left a fair proportion of 
inferior soldiers. 

The general disposition of the troops had been made 
before the arrival of the Count of Toulouse, and he 
marched his division towards the spot assigned him 
on the Sunday after Ascension-day. 4 His coming, 
however, was destined to be signalized by the first 
regular battle between the Turks and their Christian 
invaders. 

Soliman, or Kilidge Asian, the Sultaun of Roum, on 
the approach of the crusaders, had left his capital 5 
defended by a strong garrison, and travelling through 
his dominions, hastened in every direction the levies 
of his subjects. He soon collected a considerable 
body of horse, 6 and leading them to the mountains 
which overlooked the plain of Nice, he sent down two 
messengers to the city to concert with the governor a 
double attack upon the camp of the Christians. 

The messengers fell into the hands of the outposts 
of Godfrey. One was killed on the spot, and the 
other, under the fear of death, betrayed the secrets of 
the sultaun, giving at the same time an exaggerated ac- 

1 Fulcher. 2 Ibid. 

3 The word used is loricati ; and Ducange, who seldom makes 
a positive assertion without the most perfect certainty, states, in 
the observations on Joinville, that we may always translate the 
word loricatus, a knight, " et quand on voit dans les auteurs 
Latins le terme de loricati il se doit entendre des Chevaliers." — 
Ducange, Observ, sur VHist. de St. Louis, page 50. 

4 Guibert. * Albert of Aix, lib. ii. 6 Albert. 



102 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



count of his forces. 1 Information of Soliman's approach 
was instantly sent to Raimond of Toulouse, who was 
advancing from Nicomedia, 2 and by a night march he 
succeeded in joining the army of the cross in time. 
Scarcely had he taken up his position, when the 
Moslems began to descend from the mountains, clad 
like the Christians, in steel, 3 and borne by horses, fleet 
as the wind. Divided into two bodies, 4 the one 
attacked the wearied troops of the Count of Toulouse, 
seeking to force its way into the city, while the other 
fell upon the quarters of Godfrey of Bouillon. 

Doubtless Soliman thought to meet, in the immense 
multitude before him, a wild and undisciplined crowd, 
like that of Peter the Hermit ; but he soon found bit- 
terly his mistake. The crusaders received him every 
where with chivalric valour, repulsed him on all points, 
became in turn the assailants, and the plain, round 
Nice, grew one general scene of conflict. The charg- 
ing of the cavalry, the ringing of the lances and the 
swords, upon shields and corslets, the battle-cries of 
the Christians, and the techbir of the Turks; the 
shouts, the screams, the groans, rose up, we are told, 
in a roar horrible to hear. 3 

At length, finding that the sally he had expected 
was not made, Soliman retreated to the mountains ; 
but it was only to repeat the attempt, the follow- 
ing day. 6 In this, although the besieged now com- 
prehended his intention, and issued forth upon the 
Christians on the one side, while he attacked them on 
the other, he was not more fortunate than before. He 
was again repelled with great loss, owning his asto- 
nishment at the lion-like courage of the Christian 
leaders who, with a thousand lances, would often 
charge and put to flight twenty times the number of 
Turkish horsemen. 

1 Albert. 3 Albert ; Raimond d'Agiles ; Guibert. 
* Albert. 4 Raimond. 5 Albert. 6 Guibert. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



103 



According to a barbarous custom prevalent at that 
time, and which even descended to a much later 
period, the crusaders hewed off the heads of the fallen 
Moslems, 1 and cast many of them into the city. Others 
were sent to Constantinople in token of victory; 
and Alexius, as a sign of gratitude and rejoicing, 
instantly despatched large presents to the principal 
chiefs of the crusade, with great quantities of provi- 
sions for the army, which had long been straitened 
to a fearful degree. 

After the defeat of Soliman, 2 the siege was pressed 
with renewed vigour ; and battering-rams, catapults, 
and mangonels were plied incessantly against the 
walls, while moveable towers of wood, called beffroys, 
filled with armed men, were rolled close to the forti- 
fications, for the purpose of carrying on the fight hand 
to hand with the enemy, and of endeavouring to effect 
a lodgment on the battlements. 

In the mean while the plains round Nice offered a 
spectacle of the most extraordinary brilliancy. The 
glittering arms of the knights, their painted shields, 
and fluttering pennons — the embroidered banners of 
the barons, their splendid coats of arms and mag- 
nificent mantles — the gorgeous robes of the Latin 
priests, who were present in immense numbers, and 
the animated multitude of bowmen and foot-soldiers, 
mingled with thousands of that most beautiful of beasts, 
the horse, all spread out in the unclouded brightness 
of an Asiatic sky, formed as shining and extraordi- 
nary a scene as the eye could look upon. 

Not frightened, however, by the terrific splen- 
dour that surrounded them, the Turks continued to 
defend their battlements with persevering valour. 
Every attack of the Christians was met with dauntless 
intrepidity, and every laboured attempt to sap the 

1 Guibert ; Albert of Aix. 

2 Raimond d'Agiles ; Fulcher ; Albert of Aix ; Robert. Men. 



104 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



wall, or its towers, was frustrated with unwearied 
assiduity. Those who approached near, were either 
slain by poisoned arrows, 1 or crushed under immense 
stones ; and the moment any one was killed at the 
foot of the wall, 2 " it was horrible to see the Turks," 
says an eyewitness, " seize upon the body with iron 
hooks let down from above, and lifting it up through 
the air, strip it completely, and then cast it out from 
the city." Innumerable artifices were resorted to by 
the assailants to force their way into the town ; and 
none of the chiefs seem to have been more active and 
ingenious than the Count of Toulouse, 3 who once 
succeeded in undermining a tower, and casting it to 
the ground. Before this work was concluded, how- 
ever, night had fallen over the army, and ere the next 
morning the laborious activity of the Turks had re- 
paired the damage which their wall had suffered. 

Two of the principal 4 German barons, also, con- 
trived a machine of wood, to which they gave the 
name of the fox. It was capable of containing twenty 
knights, and was secured, by its immense solidity, 
from all the efforts of the enemy. When this was 
completed, a vast multitude began to push it toward 
the part of the curtain which they intended to sap, 
but the inequality of the ground, and the great 
weight of the machine itself, caused some of the 
joints to give way, when the whole fabric fell to 
pieces, crushing under its ruins the unhappy knights 
within. 

The arrival 5 of Robert of Normandy brought a vast 
accession of strength to the besiegers ; notwithstanding 
which, during the remainder of the siege of Nice, the 
immense numbers of the crusaders did not produce that 
scarcity of provision which ultimately fell upon them ; 
for Alexius, interested more than any one in the cap-^ 

1 Robert. Mori. 2 Fulcher. 3 Guibert ;* Raimond d'Agiles 
4 Albert of Aix. 6 Fulcher. 



HISTOllY OF CHIVALRY. 



105 



ture of the city, took care, after the first few days, 
that the supplies should be ample and unremitted. 

Nevertheless the courage of the garrison did not at 
all decrease, and for five weeks they still continued 
to return the assailants combat for combat, the whole 
day being consumed in a storm of arrows from the 
bows and arbalists, and of stones from the catapults 
and mangonels. 1 

Numerous instances of extraordinary personal cou- 
rage, shown on both sides, are of course recorded, and 
each different historian has his own hero, whose deeds 
are lauded to the sky. One Turk in particular sig- 
nalized himself by an immense slaughter of the cru- 
saders, showing himself exposed upon the battlements, 
and plying his terrible bow, which winged death in 
every direction.' The Christians became so fearful of 
him, that, that most imaginative passion, terror, began 
to invest him with some supernatural defence. 2 The 
best-aimed arrows proved totally ineffectual, and 
reports spread rapidly that he might be seen, still send- 
ing destruction around from his hand, while twenty 
shafts — each carrying the fate of a common mortal — 
were sticking unheeded in his flesh. Godfrey of Bouil- 
lon, to end the panic that this man occasioned, at 
length took a crossbow himself, though that machine 3 
was considered but a fit weapon for a yeoman, and 
directing the quarry with a steadier hand than those 
which had before aimed at the Turkish archer, he sent 
the missile directly to his heart. 4 

A multitude of the noblest crusaders had now fallen 
before the bows of the enemy, and many more had 
yielded to the effects of a climate totally different from 
their own. 6 6 Thus/' says one of the followers of the 
cross, " nothing was to be seen on the highways, in 

1 Idun ; Albert of Aix, 2 Albert of Aix. 

3 The Philippide. 4 Albert of Aix. 



106 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



the woods, and the fields, but a crowd of tombs, 1 
where our brethren had been buried. " 

At last, the leaders perceived the existence of a 
circumstance, their neglect of which, in the very first 
instance, showed how much the art of warfare was 
then in its infancy. One evening, after a fierce 
assault, the soldiers stationed near the water, who, 
in common with the rest of the host, usually rested 
from the labours of the siege during the night, sud- 
denly perceived boats upon the lake Ascanius, and it 
immediately became evident, that the Turks received 
every kind of supply by this easy means of communi- 
cation. As soon as this was discovered, various ves- 
sels were brought from Constantinople, and being 
drawn to the lake over a narrow neck of land which 
separated it from the sea, were filled with imperial 
archers ; 2 and the blockade of the town was thus ren- 
dered absolute. This was executed during the night, 
and all hope abandoned the Turks from the next 
morning, when they beheld, that which had proved their 
great resource, suddenly cut off. 

The crusaders now hoped to force the city to sur- 
render at discretion : and their expectations of such 
an event were much raised by the fact of the sul- 
tauness, the wife of Soliman, who had hitherto cou- 
rageously undergone all the miseries and dangers of 
a siege, being taken in endeavouring to make her 
escape by the lake. 3 

By this time the besieged had determined to surren- 
der ; but Alexius had taken care to send with the army 
of the cross an officer, on whose art and fidelity he 
could depend, to secure for the imperial crown .a 
city, which he would probably have rather seen still 
under the dominion of the Turks, than in the hands of 
the Latins. 

1 Fulcher. 2 Raimond d'Agiles Albert of Aix ; Guibert. 
8 Will. Tyr. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



107 



This man's name was Taticius, or, according to the 
crusaders' corruption, Tatin. 1 His face was dreadfully 
mutilated, and his mind seems to have been as horrible 
as his countenance. What communication he kept up 
within the town it is difficult to discover; and how 
this communication was concealed from the Latins is 
hardly known, but probably it took place, as Mills 
conjectures, by means of the lake and the Greek 
vessels which now covered it. Certain it is, that 
the Turks entered into a private treaty with the emis- 
sary of Alexius, who granted them the most advan- 
tageous terms, securing to them not only life, 2 but 
immunity and protection. 

It had been covenanted beforehand, between the 
emperor and the crusaders, that on the fall of the 
city it should be resigned to Alexius, who promised to 
give up to the troops all the riches it contained, 3 and 
to found there a monastery, and an hospital for pil- 
grims, under the superintendence of the Latins. 4 Not 
contented with this, or doubting the faith of his allies, 
he took the means I have stated to secure possession. 
Suddenly the imperial ensigns appeared upon the 
walls of Nice, when the host of the crusade was 
just rushing to the attack, in the full confidence of 
victory. It was now found that the people of the city 
had surrendered privately to Alexius, and had admitted 
his troops within the walls ; but it required the greatest 
efforts of the leaders of the crusade, although disgusted 
with this treachery themselves, to quiet their forces, 
and reconcile them to the perfidy of their base ally. 5 

On the part of the Christians, the wife and children 
of Kilidge Asian, who had fallen into their hands, 
were delivered to the Turks ; and, at the same time, 
all those prisoners which had been taken by Soliman, 

1 Albert of Aix. 2 Guibert ; Albert. 

* William of Tyre ; Raimond. 4 Raimond de Agiles. 

5 William of Tyre ; Raimond de Agiles ; Guibert de Nogent. 



108 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



on the defeat of Gautier sans avoir, were restored to 
liberty. So little, however, did Alexius keep his treaty 
with the crusaders, that, instead of yielding to them 
the whole plunder of Nice, he contented himself with 
distributing some rich presents to the chiefs, 1 and 
some money to the poor of the army ; and suffered 
them, thus dissatisfied and injured, to raise their camp 
and march on towards Jerusalem, without permitting 
them to set foot within the city they had conquered. 2 

The army of the cross wasted no time under the 
walls of Nice, but as soon as the principal leaders had 
returned from Pelicanum, whither they had gone once 
more to confer with Alexius, it began its march. s At 
the end of the second day the forces of the different 
chiefs 4 were accidentally separated, 5 Boemond and 
the Duke of Normandy taking a path considerably to 
the left of that followed by Godfrey and the rest of the 
host. They proceeded on their way, notwithstand- 
ing, knowing that they could not be very far from 
the principal body, and towards night pitched their 
camp in the valley of Gorgon, in the midst of some 
rich meadows, and near a running stream. 6 

1 Fulcher, cap. 4. ; William of Tyre. 

2 Ten at a time were admitted within the walls, but not more. 

3 June 29, a. d. 1097. 

4 Fulcher, cap. 5 ; Raimond d'Agiles ; Orderic Vital ; Raoul 
de Caen. 

5 Mills avers that the chiefs separated by mutual consent. I 
have found nothing to confirm this opinion. Radulphus says 
that there was a rumour to that effect, but shows that it could 
not be just, as the baggage of the troops of Boemond and his 
party had, by the error "that separated them, been left with the 
other division. William of Tyre leaves the question unde- 
cided. Fulcher says, absolutely, that the separation originated 
in a mistake. Orderic Vital follows the same opinion. Raimond 
d'Agiles is not precise, but he says that it was done inconsider- 
ately ; and Guibert decidedly affirms that it was accidental, 
and through the obscurity of the morning in which they began 
their march. 

« William of Tyre, 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



109 



Their situation was, nevertheless, not near so desira- 
ble as they imagined, for Soliman, who, during the siege 
of Nice, had made the most immense efforts for the 
purpose of relieving that city, now that it had fallen, 
hung with the whole of his force, 1 to the amount of 
nearly two hundred thousand men, 2 upon the left 
flank of the army of the crusaders, concealing his own 
evolutions by his perfect knowledge of the country, 
and watching those of his enemies with the keen 
anxiety of a falcon hovering over her prey. No 
sooner had the separation we have mentioned taken 
place in the host of the cross, than the sultaun 
hastened his march to overtake the army of Boe- 
mond, which was infinitely the weaker of the two 
divisions. 

Accustomed to every sort of rapid movement, Soli- 
man soon came up with the forces of the Prince of 
Tarentum and the Duke of Normandy. 

The crusaders had been from time to time warned, 
during the preceding day, that an enemy was in the 
neighbourhood, by the sight of scattered parties of 
Arabs hovering round their army. 3 They neverthe- 
less encamped by the side of a beautiful stream that, 
flowing on through the rich valley in which they 
were advancing, proceeded to join itself to the waters 
of the Sangarius. Here they passed the night in re- 
pose, taking merely the precaution of throwing out 
sentinels to the banks of the stream. Early the 
next morning, Boemond and Robert again com- 
menced their march, and had advanced some way, 4 
when the immense army of Soliman began to appear 
upon the hills. 

1 Fulcher ; Raimond d'Agiles ; Albert. 

2 Fulcher makes it amount to nearly three hundred and sixty 
thousand combatants ; and Raimond reduces the number to one 
hundred and fifty thousand. 

3 Fulcher. * Ibid. ; Guibert. 



110 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



Boemond instantly sent off messengers to Godfrey 
of Bouillon, and the rest of his noble companions, of 
whose proximity he had now become aware, and gave 
orders for drawing up his forces, for pitching the tents, 
and for making a rampart of the waggons 1 and baggage 
for the defence of the sick and the weak, from the ar- 
rows of the Turks. In the mean while, turning to his 
knights and men at arms, he addressed them with the 
brief eloquence of courage. " Remember the duties 
of your calling !" he exclaimed. " Behold the peril 
in which you are placed — charge boldly to meet the 
infidels — defend your honour and your lives !" 

While he spoke, the Turks rushed down to the bat- 
tle with terrific cries, 2 which, mingling with the tramp 
of two hundred thousand horse, and the ringing of 
their armour, together with the trumpets of the Chris- 
tian host, and the shouts of the chiefs and the heralds, 
raised so fearful a din, that no one could hear another 
speak amongst the followers of the cross. 

The army of Boemond, hastily drawn up, presented 
a mingled front of horse and foot soldiers, and pilgrims, 3 
some but half-armed, some not armed at all ; while 
the Turks came down in one torrent of cavalry. The 
immense numbers which it contained all blazing with 
glittering arms, and provided with bows of horn and 
scimitars, dazzled and dismayed the troops of the 
Christians. As the infidels approached, the European 
Chivalry dropped the points of their long lances, and 
prepared to hurl back their foes, as was their wont, by 
the heavy and decided charge which proved always so 
effective ; but suddenly, each Moslem raised his bow 
even as he galloped forward, 4 a thick cloud seemed to 
come over the sun, and then, two hundred thousand 
arrows dropping at once amongst the crusaders, a 

1 William of Tyre ; Guibert ; Fulcher, cap. 5. 

2 Guibert ; Will, of Tyr. 3 Fulcher ; Radulph. Cad. cap. 21. 
4 William of Tyre; Guibert; Fulcher. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



Ill 



multitude 1 of men and horses were instantly stretched 
upon the plain. 

Before the Christians could rally from the surprise, 
a second flight of arrows followed the first, doing 
dreadful execution amongst the foot-soldiers and the 
steeds of the knights. 2 But now Tancred and Boe- 
mond led on their troops to the charge, and spurred their 
horses into the midst of the enemy. The Turks, as 
was their habit, yielded ground on every side, avoid- 
ing, by the swiftness of their chargers, the lances and 
the swords of the Christians, and, like the Parthians 
of old, continuing their fearful archery even as they 
fled. 

Vain v r ere all the efforts of the European Chivalry, 
though, throwing away their useless spears, they en- 
deavoured to reach the Turks with their swords ; 3 but 
now, in turn, the swarming multitudes of their foes 
pouring down fresh from the mountains on every side, 
no longer retreated, but pressed closer and closer 
upon them; and as each adversary fell beneath the 
vigorous blows of the knights, new foes started up to 
meet them. 

In the mean while, thick and fast was mown the 
flower of the Christian army. The brother of Tancred, 
famed alike for his beauty and his courage, was slain 
before the eyes of his relation. 4 Tancred himself, sur- 
rounded by a thousand enemies, fought as if Fate 
had put the weapon in his hands, but fought in vain. 
Boemond, with all his efforts, could scarcely extri- 
cate his gallant cousin from the torrent of adversaries 
in the midst of which he struggled, and even then it 
was with the loss of the banner of Otranto. 5 

Borne back by the growing multitude that pressed 
upon them, the knights gave w r ay before the Saracens, 

1 Fulcher, cap. 5 ; William of Tyre. 

2 William of Tyre. 3 Raoul of Caen. 

Albert ; Raoul of Caen ; William of Tyre. * Albert. 



112 



HISTOPvY OF CHIVALRY, 



and were driven struggling upon the very pikes 1 of the 
foot-soldiers that were advancing to their support. At 
the same time Soliman, whose numbers gave him 
the means of surrounding the army of the cru- 
saders, directed several large bodies of his cavalry 
through some marshes to the rear of the Christians, and 
in a moment the camp 2 of Boemond was invaded and 
deluged with the blood of the old, the women, and the 
helpless ! 3 

Robert of Normandy, however, who had commanded 
the reserve, now beholding the flight of his allies, roused 
all the courage of his heart ; and uncovering his head 
in the midst of the fray, shouted forth his battle-cry 4 of 
" Normandy! Normandy! Whither fly you, Boemond?" 
He exclaimed, " Your Apulia is afar ! Where go you, 
Tancred ? Otranto is not near you ! Turn ! turn upon 
the enemy ! God wills it ! God wills it !" And seizing 
his banner, he spurred on with his followers against 
the Turks, drove them back, rallied the cavalry, and 
restored order and regularity to the defence. 

Boemond, in the mean while, had turned his arms 
towards the camp ; and the Turks had retreated 
from that quarter of the field, bearing with them all 
that was valuable, and a considerable number of pri- 
soners. The army of the crusade was now concen- 

1 Raoul of Caen. 2 Fulcher ; Albert ; Raoul of Caen. 

3 Albert of Aix informs us, that the ladies of Boemond's 
camp, seeing the merciless fury with which the Turks were deal- 
ing death to all ages and sexes, clothed themselves in their most 
becoming garments, and strove to display their charms to the 
best advantage, for the purpose of obtaining the durance of the 
harem rather than the grave. Albert was not present, and did 
not even visit the Holy Land ; and I find his account in this re- 
spect confirmed by no other historian. The good Canon, indeed, 
was somewhat fond of little tales of scandal, so that I feel in- 
clined to doubt his authority, where such matters are under dis- 
cussion. He has an anecdote in a similar style appended to his 
history of the taking of Nice. 

4 Radulphus, cap. 22, 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



113 



trated on one spot, while that of the Turks, surround- 
ing it on all sides, gave it not a moment's repose. 
Soldier fell beside soldier, knight beside knight. 1 Fa- 
tigue and thirst rendered those that remained little ca- 
pable of defence ; and the dust and the hot sun made 
many of the wounds mortal, which otherwise would 
have been slight in comparison. In this conjuncture, 2 
the women that remained proved infinitely serviceable, 
bringing to the troops water from the river, and, by 
prayers and exhortations, encouraging them to the 
fight. 

Thus lasted the battle for many hours, when first a 
cloud of dust, rising from behind the hills, announced 
that some new combatants were hurrying to the field. 
Then rose above the slope banner, and pennon, and 
lance, and glittering arms, while the red cross flutter- 
ing on the wind brought hope and joy to the sinking 
hearts of the crusaders, and terror and dismay to the 
victorious Turks. 3 In scattered bands, spurring on 
their horses as for life, came the Chivalry of the west 
to the aid of their brother Christians. None waited for 
the others; but each hastened to the fight as the fleet- 
ness of his charger would permit, and rank after rank, 
troop after troop, banner followed by banner, and 
spear glittering after spear, came rushing over the 
mountains to the valley of the battle. " God wills it! 
God wills it !" echoed from hill to hill. 4 

Robert of Normandy shouted his war-cry, Boemond, 
with renewed hope, couched his lance, and Tancred 
rushed upon the slayers of his brother. 

At the same time 5 Godfrey of Bouillon arrayed his 
army as they came up, and, with levelled lances, drove 
down upon the Turks. Hugh of Vermandois attacked 
them on the flank, and Raimond of Toulouse, with 

1 William of Tyre. 2 Orderic Vital ; Guibert. 

3 Albert of Aix ; Fulciier, cap. 5 ; William of Tyre. 

4 Radulph. Cadom. cap. 26 3 Fulcher - 9 Albert of Aix 

I 



114 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



the warlike Bishop of Puy, soon increased the forces 
of the cross. 

The Turks 1 still made great and valorous efforts to 
maintain the superiority they had gained, but the 
charge of the Latin Chivalry was irresistible. The 
infidels were driven back, compelled to fly in disorder, 
and pursued over the mountains by the victorious cru- 
saders. 2 In the hills the Christians, who followed hard 
upon their course, discovered the camp of the Saracens, 
where immense booty, both in gold and provisions, 3 
became the recompence of their exertions. Here also 
they found all the prisoners who had been taken in the 
first part of the battle, and a great number of beasts 
of burden, of which they were themselves in great 
need. Amongst the rest was a multitude of camels, 
an animal which few of the Franks had ever seen 
before. These were all brought to the Christian en- 
campment, and rejoicing succeeded the fatigues and 
horrors of the day. 

The loss of the crusaders, after so long and severe a 
battle, if we can depend upon the account generally 
given, was very much less than might have been antici- 
pated. Only four thousand men 4 are supposed to have 
fallen on the part of the Christians; these were prin- 
cipally, also, of the inferior classes, who, unprotected 
by the armour which defended the persons of the 
knights, were fully exposed to the arrows of the 
Turks. 

Three men of great note, amongst the champions of the 

1 Albert ; Radulphus Cadomachus, cap. 27, 28, et seq. .; Wil- 
liam of Tyre. 

2 Many of the Christians attributed their victory to the mira- 
culous interposition of two canonized martyrs, who, in glittering- 
armour, led on the army of Godfrey and the Count of Toulouse, 
and scared the Turks more than all'the lances of the crusaders. 
Though the supposed interposition of such personages certainly- 
robbed the leaders of no small share of glory, yet it gave vast 
confidence and enthusiasm to the inferior classes. 

3 Albert of Aix ; Fulcher ; Guibert. 4 William of Tyre. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



115 



cross, were added to this list of killed 1 — William, the 
brother of Tanered ; Geoffrey, of Mount Scabius ; and 
Robert of Paris, whose conduct at the court of Alexius 
we have before mentioned. The loss, on the part of 
the Turks, was infinitely more considerable, and thus, 
at the close of the battle of Dorylceum, the Christian 
leaders found that they had marked their progress to- 
wards the Holy Land by a great and decisive victory. 

The crusading armies now paused for several days, 2 
enjoying the repose and comfort which the spot afford- 
ed, and which their exhausted troops so much re- 
quired. The wounds of the soldiers who had suffered 
in the late battle were thus in some degree healed ; 
and the abundance of provisions the enemy had left 
behind served to renovate the strength and raise up 
the hopes and enthusiasm of the Christians. In the 
mean while the Turks, who had survived their defeat 
at Doryloeum, spread themselves in large bands over 
the country, and, pretending to have totally over- 
come the Latins, forced themselves into the cities, 
destroying and wasting every thing in their way. 3 The 
Christians thus, in their march through Phrygia, had 
to cross a large tract which had been completely 
ravaged by the enemy. With their usual improvi- 
dence, they had exhausted the provisions they had 
found in their adversary's camp; and, ignorant of the 
country, they had provided themselves with no water, 
so that they had to encounter all the heat of the 
solstitial days of a Phrygian climate, without a drop of 
liquid to allay their burning thirst. Men and horses 
fell by thousands in the way ; 4 and the women, parched 
with drought, and dying with fatigue, forgot delicacy, 
feeling, and even the ties of human nature — rolled pros- 

1 Guibert ; William of Tyre ; Albert of Aix./*" 

2 Albert of Aix. 3 Guibert, lib. iii. 

4 Albert of Aix, lib. iii. ; William of Tyre. 
I 2 



116 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



trate on the ground with the agony of thirst — offered 
their naked bosoms to the swords of the soldiers, and 
prayed for death — or threw down their new-born chil- 
dren in the track of the army, and abandoned them to 
a slow and miserable fate ! The most terrible mor- 
tality prevailed amongst the beasts of burden, so that 
the animals accustomed to bear the bao^a^e of the 
host having nearly all died by the way, dogs and 
oxen, and even hogs, 1 are said to have been loaded 
with the lighter articles of necessity, while an immense 
quantity of luggage was cast away on the road. 
Many falcons and dogs — a part of knightly equipage 
never forgotten — had been brought from Europe to 
Asia ; but the dogs, spreading their nostrils in vain to 
the hot wind for the least breath of moisture, left the 
long- accustomed hand that they were wont to love, 
and, straying through the desolate land, died amongst 
the mountains; while the clear eye of the noble 
falcon withered under the fiery sky, which nothing 
but a vulture could endure; and, after long privation, 
he dropped from the glove that held him. 2 

At length water was discovered, and the whole army 
rushed forward to the river. Their intemperate eager- 
ness 3 rendered the means of relief nearly as destruc- 
tive as the thirst which they had endured, and many 
were added to the victims of that horrible march by 
their own imprudent indulgence in the cool blessing 
that they had found at last. The country now had 
changed its aspect, and nothing presented itself but 
splendid fertility till the host of the crusade reached the 
city of Antiochetta, where, surrounded by rivulets, 
and forests, and rich pastures, they pitched their 
tents, determined to enjoy the earthly paradise that 
spread around them. 

Some of the warriors, however, whose energetic spirit 



1 Fulcher ; Guibert. 2 Albert. 3 Ibid. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



117 



no fatigues could daunt 1 or subdue, soon tired of the idle 
sweets of Antiochetta, 2 and voluntarily separated them- 
selves from the army, seeking either renown or profit, 
by detached enterprises. Tancred on the one hand, 
with the Prince of Salernum, and several other nobles, 
five hundred knights, and a party of foot-soldiers, set 
out from the army of Boemond, to explore the coun- 
try, and ascertain the strength of the enemies by which 
they were surrounded. Detaching himself at the same 
time from the division of Godfrey of Bouillon, Bald- 
win, the brother of that leader, joined Tancred with a 
somewhat superior force, actuated probably more by the 
hope of his own individual aggrandizement, than by 
any purpose of serving the general cause of the crusade. 

After wandering for some time through the districts 
round Iconium and Heraclea, 3 which the Turks had 
taken care to desolate beforehand, the two chieftains 
again separated, and Tancred pursuing his way by 
Cilicia, came suddenly before Tarsus. The Turks, 
by whom that city was garrisoned, knowing that the 
greater part of the populace was opposed to them, sur- 
rendered almost immediately on the approach of the 
Christian leader, and while he encamped with his forces 
under the walls, waiting, according to stipulation, for 

1 Radulph. Cadom. cap. 33 ; Guibert,'lib. iii. ; Wiil.Tyr. 

2 All the. authors of the day that I have been able to meet 
with, declare this expedition of Baldwin and Tancred to have 
been voluntary. Mills only, as far as I can discover, attributes 
their conduct to an order received from others. I mark the cir- 
cumstance more particularly, because, under my view of the 
case, the fact of Tancred and his companions having separated 
themselves from the rest of the host, after such immense fatigues, 
abandoning repose and comfort, and seeking new dangers and 
fresh privations, is one of the most extraordinary instances on 
record of the effect of the chivalrous spirit of the age. Under 
this point of view, all the historians of that time saw the enter- 
prise which they have recorded ; but Mills, writing in the least 
chivalrous of all epochs, has reduced the whole to a corporal- 
like obedience of orders. 

3 Albert of Aix, lib. iii. ; Radulph. cap. 37. 



118 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



the arrival of Boemond, his banner was hoisted upon 
the towers of the town. 1 Scarcely had this been done, 
when Baldwin also appeared, and at first, the two 
armies, each conceiving the other to be an enemy, pre- 
pared to give one another battle. The mistake was 
soon discovered, and Tancred welcomed his comrade 
in arms to Tarsus. The feelings of Baldwin, however, 
were less chivalric than those of the noble chief of 
Otranto, and the banner of Tancred flying on the 
walls of Tarsus, was an object that he could not long 
endure. After passing a day or two in apparent 
amity, he suddenly demanded possession of the city, 
declaring that, as he led the superior force, he was 
entitled to command. Tancred scoffed at the absurd 
pretence, and both parties had nearly betaken them- 
selves to arms. 2 The noble moderation of the Italian 
leader brought about a temporary reconciliation. He 
agreed that the people of the city themselves should 
be referred to, and choose the chief to whom they 
would submit. This was accordingly done, and the 
inhabitants instantly fixed upon the knight to whom 
they had first surrendered. 3 But Baldwin was yet 
unsatisfied; and after having made a proposal to sack 
and pillage the town, which was rejected with scorn 
and abhorrence by his more generous fellow-soldier, 
he caballed with the citizens and the Turks, till he 
won them to throw down Tancred's banner, and yield 
themselves to him. Mortified, indignant, even en- 
raged, the steady purpose of right within the bosom 
of the chief of Otranto, maintained him still in that 
undeviating course of rectitude which he had always 
pursued; and, resolved not to imbrue a sword, drawn 
for honour and religion, in the blood of his fellow- 
christians, 4 he withdrew his forces from before Tarsus, 
and turned his arms against Mamistra. The Turks 

* Albert of Aix, lib. iii.; Guibert. ; Will. Tyr. 
2 Radulphus, cap. 38. 3 Albert of Aix ; Guibert, lib. iii. 
Radulpbus ; Albert of Aix ; Guibert of Nogent. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALP.Y. 



119 



here, more bold than those of the former city, beheld 
his approach unawed, and held out the town for several 
days, till at length it fell by storm, and the victorious 
chief planted his banner on those walls with far more 
honourable glory than that which surrounded the 
standard of Baldwin at Tarsus. 

In the mean while, another body of crusaders, de- 
tached from the troops of Boemond, arrived before the 
city, in which Baldwin had established himself, and 
demanded entrance, or at least assistance and provi- 
sions. Baldwin 1 cruelly caused the gates to be shut 
upon them ; and had it not been for the charitable care 
of some of the Christian inhabitants, who let them 
down wine and food from the walls, they would have 
been left to expire of want. A fate hardly better 
awaited them. The Turks had still, by their capitu- 
lation, maintained possession of several of the towers 
of Tarsus, but fearful of the superior force of Bald- 
win, they sought but a fair opportunity to escape 
without pursuit. The very night that the detachment, 
of which I have spoken above, arrived, the Turks car- 
ried their intentions into effect, 2 and finding a small 
body of Christians sleeping under the walls without 
defence, they made the massacre of the whole, the first 
step in their flight. The soldiers of Baldwin and 
the citizens of Tarsus, who had together witness- 
ed, with indignation, the barbarous conduct of the 
French chieftain, now rose in absolute revolt. 3 Bald- 
win, however, having remained in concealment for a few 
days, contrived to pacify his followers, and to overawe 
the city. After this he joined himself to a band of pira- 
tical adventurers, who about that time arrived ac- 
cidentally at Tarsus, and who, mingling their lust of 
prey with some dark and superstitious notions of reli- 
gion, had turned their course towards the Holy Land, 
in the pleasant hope of serving both God and Mammon 



1 Albert, lib. iii. 2 Albert. 3 Ibid. 



120 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



with the sword. 1 With these, Baldwin continued to 
ravage Cilicia, and at length approaching Mamistra, 
in which Tancred had established himself, he pitched 
his tents upon the immediate territory of that city. 
Tancred now gave way to his indignation, and issuing 
forth, though accompanied by very inferior forces, 
he attacked Baldwin sword in hand, when a fierce en- 
gagement ensued between the two Christian armies. 
The struggle was severe but short : the superior num- 
bers of the French prevailed, and Tancred was forced 
to retreat into the city. On one side, the Prince of 
Salernum was made prisoner by Baldwin, 2 and on the 
other, Gilbert of Montclar was taken ; but the next 
day, shame for their unchristian dissensions took pos- 
session of each chief. Peace was agreed upon ; they 
embraced in sight of the two hosts ; the captives were 
exchanged, and, as usual, Satan got the credit of the 
dispute. Baldwin proceeded, after this, to join the 
main army, and left his piratical associates to aid 
Tancred in laying waste the country. 

During these events, the great body of the crusade 
had remained for some time at Antiochetta, where 
the people continued to acquire new health and 
strength, in the enjoyment of that tranquillity and 
abundance which had been so long withheld from 
them. Not so the chiefs, two of whom 3 — and those 
of the most distinguished — had nearly, in this period 
of repose and peace, found that death, which they had 
so often dared in the midst of battle and hardship. 

Godfrey of Bouillon, in delivering a pilgrim from 
the attack of a huge 4 bear in the woods of Antiochetta, 
had almost fallen a victim to his chivalrous cou- 
rage: he received so many wounds, that even after 
having slain his ferocious adversary, he could not drag 

1 Albert ; Raoul de Caen. See also Fulcher, who was chap- 
lain to Baldwin. 2 Albert of Aix ; Raoul of Caen. 

3 Albert of Aix ; William of Tyre ; Raimond d'AgUes. 

4 Albert of Aix ; William of Tyre. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



121 



himself from the forest to the camp ; and remained 
long and dangerously ill in consequence. At the same 
time, the Count of Toulouse was seized with a violent 
fever, which brought him to the brink of the grave. 
He was taken from his bed and laid upon the ground — 
as was customary amongst the pilgrims at the hour of 
death, that they might expire with all humility — and the 
Bishop of Orange administered the last sacraments of 
the church :* but a certain Count of Saxe, who ac- 
companied the army, came to visit the leader of the 
Provencals, and told him that St. Giles (the patron 
saint of the Counts of Toulouse) had twice appeared to 
him in a dream, assuring him that so valuable a life 
should be spared to the crusaders. 

Whether from the effect of that most excellent me- 
dicine, hope, or from a natural turn in his disease, the 
count suddenly began to recover, and before long was 
sufficiently well to accompany the army in a litter. The 
chiefs of the crusade now directed their march towards 
Antioch, suffering not a little from the desolate state 
of the country, which, devastated on every side by the 
Turks, afforded no means of supplying the immense 
multitude that followed the standard of the cross. 
After passing Iconium and Heraclea, their fatigues 
were destined to increase rather than diminish. Their 
road now lay through uninhabited wilds, which Robert 
the Monk describes in language at once picturesque and 
terrific. 2 " They travelled, " says he, " with deplor- 
able suffering through mountains where no path was 
to be found, except the paths of reptiles and savage 
beasts, and where the passages afforded no more space 
than just sufficient to place one foot before the other, 
in tracks shut in between rocks and thorny bushes. The 
depths of the precipices seemed to sink down to the 
centre of the earth, while the summits of the moun- 

1 Raimond d'Agiles. 

3 Robert Mon.lib. iii.j Albert of Aix.j Guibert, ! 



122 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



tains appeared to rise up to the firmament. The 
knights and men at arms walked forward with uncer- 
tain steps, the armour being slung over their shoul- 
ders, and each of them acting as a foot-soldier, for 
none dared mount his horse. Many would willingly 
have sold their helmets, their breastplates, or their 
shields, had they found any one to buy, and some, 
wearied out, cast down their arms, to walk more 
lightly. No loaded horses could pass, and the men 
were obliged to carry the whole burdens. None could 
stop or sit down : none could aid his companion, ex- 
cept where the one who came behind might sometimes 
help the person before him, though those that preced- 
ed could hardly turn the head towards those that 
followed. Nevertheless, having traversed these hor- 
rible paths, or rather these pathless wildernesses, they 
arrived at length at the city named Marasia, the inha- 
bitants of which received them with joy and respect. " 

At Marasch the host was rejoined by Baldwin, 
whose wife died a few days before his arrival. His 
brother Godfrey, 1 too, was still suffering from the 
effects of his combat with the wild beast, and 'all the 
chiefs of the crusade, indignant at his conduct at 
Tarsus, gave him but a chilling and gloomy reception. 2 
The spirit of individual aggrandizement was still the 
strongest passion in the breast of Baldwin, and the 
coldness of his companions in arms yielded him no great 
encouragement to stay and employ his efforts for the 
general object of the expedition, rather than for the 
purposes of his own selfish ambition. He very soon 
abandoned the rest of the chiefs, contriving to seduce 
two hundred knights, and a large party of foot-soldiers, 
to join him ; and as his course was thenceforth separate 
from the rest of the crusaders, I shall follow the ex- 
ample of Guibert, and briefly trace it out, till it falls 
again into the general stream of events. 



1 Albert of Aix. 2 William of Tyre. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY* 



123 



Accompanied by Pancrates, 1 an Armenian, who 
painted in glowing colours the wealth of the provinces 
on the other side of the Euphrates, 2 and the facility 
with which they might be conquered, he set out with 
the vague hope of plundering something and over- 
coming some one, he knew not well what or whom. 
However, his skill as a commander was certain to find 
matter on which to exercise itself, in a country 
possessed by an active enemy, while his rapacious 
propensities were very likely to be gratified in a rich 
and plentiful land, where the many were oppressed by 
the few. Turbessel, 3 and Ravendel fell immediately 
into his hands, and were at first placed under the com- 
mand of his companion, Pancrates; but, beginning to 
suspect that personage, he forced him to deliver up 
the cities, by imprisonment, torture, and a threat of 
having him torn limb from limb. 4 He then passed 
onward, crossed the Euphrates, and at the invitation 
of Thoros, sovereign of Edessa, entered that city, 
to free it from the power of the Turks. Thoros, a 
weak and childless old man, was driven by the inha- 
bitants — who were terrified at their infidel neighbours, 
and had no confidence in their feeble monarch — to 
adopt the brother of Godfrey, with all the curious cere- 
monies then practised on such occasions. He passed his 
own shirt over Baldwin's shoulders, 5 pressed him to his 
naked breast, and publicly declared him his son. 6 

The transactions that followed are very obscure, 
and as I have not been able to satisfy myself in re- 
gard to the share which Baldwin had, in the tumults 
that succeeded, and the death of Thoros, I will but 
state the facts,without attempting to trace them to secret 
causes, which are now hidden in the dark tabernacle 
of the past. Something we know — Baldwin was am- 

1 Albert of Aix. 

2 The population of these countries was in general Christian. 

3 Fulcher ; Albert. 4 Albert $ Guibert, lib. iii. 
5 Guibert. 6 Albert. 



124 



HISTORY OF CHIVALHY. 



bitious, unscrupulous, intriguing, cruel — and shortly 
after his arrival, the people of Edessa rose against their 
unhappy prince, slew him, and elected Baldwin in 
his place. It does not absolutely appear that Bald- 
win was the instigator of these riots, or the prompter 
of the death of Thoros ; but it does appear, that 
he did not exert himself, as he might have done, 
to put them down. That it was in his power to sup- 
press them, is evinced by the rapidity with which he 
reduced the Edessians 1 to the most submissive obedi- 
ence, immediately that the rank for which he had to con- 
tend, was his own. He afterwards proceeded to aggran- 
dize his dominions, by attacking various of the neigh- 
bouring cities, and thus, in continual struggles, he 
passed his days, till some time after his companions in 
arms had completed their conquest of the Holy Land. 

In the mean while, Tancred took possession of the 
whole country, as far as the town of Alexandretta, in 
the Gulf of Ajasse ; and the great army of the crusade 
continued its march, throwing forward Robert of 
Flanders to seize on Artesia. 3 The Mahomedan 
soldiery prepared to resist ; but the Armenian inha- 
bitants opened the gates to their Christian deliverers, 
and the infidels were massacred without mercy. On 
the news of this event, Baghasian, the commander of 
the Turkish garrison of Antioch, apparently not know- 
ing the immediate proximity of the whole Christian 
force, endeavoured to cut off, by stratagem, the small 
army of the Count of Flanders, who was accompanied 
by only one thousand knights. For this purpose the 
Turk advanced from Antioch, 3 followed by nearly 
twenty thousand horsemen, whom he placed in am- 
bush in a plain near the city, while he himself, at the 
head of a petty detachment, armed alone with bows of 
horn, 4 advanced as if to reconnoitre the Christian troops. 

1 Guibert, lib. iii. ; where see the manner in which Baldwin 
contrived to subjugate the inhabitants. 

2 Albert of Aix. 3 Guibert. 4 Albert. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



125 



Robert of Flanders and his knights suffered themselves 
to be deceived, and charged the enemy, who fled before 
them, but in a moment they were surrounded by im- 
mensely superior numbers, who, with terrific cries, 
rushed on, to what appeared a certain victory. The 
gallantry 1 and courage of the Christian warriors served 
to deliver them from the danger into which the excess 
of that very courage had brought them, and charging 
the Turks with vigour in one decided direction, they 
succeeded in cutting their way through, and effecting 
their retreat to the city. 

Here, however, they were besieged by the enemy ; 
but the arrival of Tancred, on his return from his vic- 
torious expedition, together with reinforcements from 
the main army, relieved them from the presence of the 
Turks, who retreated upon Antioch. 

1 Mills declares, that the Christians were rescued from this 
ambuscade by the arrival of Tancred. I find the account of Al- 
bert of Aix totally opposed to such a statement; while the pas- 
sage in Raoul of Caen, relating to this event, is so full of errors 
in other respects, that no reliance could be'placed upon it, even 
if it justified the assertion of Mills, which, however, it does not do. 
He states, that Tancred arrived long before the ambuscade, and 
that he found Baldwin at Artesia. By this he might mean Bald- 
win de Bourg, who, after the other Baldwin became King of Je- 
rusalem, was also created Count of Edessa ; but this interpreta- 
tion cannot be admitted here, as he mentions the former disputes 
between the soldiers of Tancred and of the Baldwin, to whom he 
refers, and who could therefore be none other than the brother 
of Godfrey, who was, we know, in Edessa at the time. We may 
therefore conclude, that as a principal part of this account is 
notoriously false, Raoul of Caen cannot be considered as any 
authority, so far as this event is concerned. Finding the state- 
ment of Tancred's assistance here not confirmed by any other 
good authority, I have abided by the account of Albert. 



126 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE HOST OF THE CRUSADE INVESTS ANTIOCH— DESCRIPTION OF THAT CITY — 
DIFFICULTIES AND ERRORS OF THE CRUSADERS— IMPROVIDENCE— FAMINE — 
SPIES— DESERTIONS— EMBASSY FROM THE CALIF OF EGYPT— SUCCOURS 
FROM THE GENOESE AND PISANS— BATTLE— FEATS OF THE CHRISTIAN 
KNIGHTS— BOEMOND KEEPS UP A COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE TOWN— 
THE TOWN BETRAYED TO THE CHRISTIANS— MASSACRES— ARRIVAL OF AN 
ARMY FROM PERSIA— THE CHRISTIANS BESIEGED IN ANTIOCH— FAMINE — 
DESERTIONS— VISIONS— RENEWED ENTHUSIASM— DIMINISHED FORCES OF 
THE CHRISTIANS— BATTLE OF ANTIOCH— THE CRUSADERS VICTORIOUS- 
SPOILS— DISPUTES WITH THE COUNT OF TOULOUSE— THE CHIEFS DETERMINE 
TO REPOSE AT ANTIOCH— AMBASSADORS SENT TO ALEXIUS — FATE OF THEIR 
EMBASSY. 

The army now began to approach towards Antioeh; 
and it was evident, that the task which the champions 
of the cross had undertaken, was becoming more and 
more difficult, as it drew near its consummation. The 
host was proceeding further and further from all re- 
sources ; its enemies were gathering strength and 
falling back upon fresh supplies ; multitudes of the in- 
vaders had died, and others w T ere each day joining the 
dead : little hope of fresh reinforcements could be 
entertained, and the flame of enthusiasm was waxing 
dim, while fatigue, privation, and continual anxiety, 
were gradually bringing disgust to the enterprise. 
The council of leaders, 1 well aware of the increasing 
dangers, now issued orders that in future no party 
whatever should absent itself from the main body; and 



1 Albert of Aix. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



127 



all considerable detachments having rejoined it, they 
marched on to the valley of the Orontes. Over that river 
a stone-bridge of nine arches was the only passage : this 
was strongly fortified, and closed with doors plated 
with iron, from which circumstance it had received the 
name of the iron-bridge. The Turks defended this 
formidable position with great valour against Robert, 
Duke of Normandy, who commanded the advance 
guard of the crusading army ; but on the arrival of 
Godfrey and the other forces, the bridge was carried, 
the river passed, and Antioch invested. 

lnlthe vast plain situated at the foot of the moun- 
tains, 1 the Orontes wanders on towards the sea, skirt- 
ing, during a part of its course, the steep boundary 
which closes in the plain of Antioch from the south. 
On one of the bendings of the river was situated the 
town of Antioch, which, climbing up the hills, took 
within the embrace of its massy walls three high 
peaks of the mountain, one of which standing towards 
the north is separated from the others, by a steep pre- 
cipice, and was then crowned by a high and almost 
impregnable citadel. 2 The town itself, which extended 
in length two miles, was so strongly fortified by art 
and nature, that none of the active means then known 
seemed likely to take it by assault. The walls of the 
city were not absolutely washed by the Orontes ; for 
between them and that river was a space of level 
ground, the breadth of which Raimond d'Agiles esti- 
mates at an arrow's flight ; but, as the river turned in 
its course, it approached nearer to the town, and an 
antique bridge, 3 which the crusaders at first neglected 
to secure, gave infinite facility to the Turks, both in 
annoying their adversaries and in procuring supplies. 
On the other side, spreading from the river to the foot 
of the mountains, was a marsh supplied constantly by 
some fresh springs. Over this also was thrown a 

1 Raimond d'Agiles. 2 Will. Tyr. ; Raimond. 3 Albert of Aix. 



128 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



bridge, which equally remained in the hands of the 
infidels. 

The encampment of the crusaders was conducted 
without any degree of military^science. 1 Various points 
were left open and unguarded ; each chief seemed to 
choose his own situation, and form his own plan of 
attack ; and the most scandalous waste and profusion 
from the very first laid the foundation of after want 
and misery. 

Such were the obstacles which impeded the progress 
of the forces of the cross, and which might ultimately 
have rendered all their efforts abortive, had not other 
circumstances arisen to bring about an event that 
their own skill and conduct would never have accom- 
plished. It is not necessary here to describe the 
position of the several leaders : suffice it, that Tatin, 
as he is called by the writers of that day, the com- 
mander of the troops of Alexius, took up his station in 
a spot detached from the rest. Three hundred thou- 
sand men capable of bearing arms, 2 sat down under the 
walls of Antioch ; and -such a profusion of provisions 
was found, even for this immense multitude, that the 
greater part of each animal slaughtered, was wasted, 
the crusaders in the wantonness of luxury refusing to 
eat any but particular parts of the beast. 3 

Such was the formidable appearance of the city, how- 
ever, that a council was held to consider whether it 
would be advisable to attack it at once, or, remaining 
beneath the walls, to wait and see if famine would spare 
the work of the sword, or spring bring fresh resources 
to the besiegers. This opinion was soon negatived, and 
the attack began ; but the walls of Antioch resisted all 
efforts. Every means then known was employed by the 
crusaders to batter the heavy masonry of those mighty 

1 Raimond ; Guibert of Nogent. 

2 Raimond ; Albert says six hundred thousand ; Guibert of 
Nogent. 

3 Raimond. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



129 



bulwarks, but in vain. Moveable towers, and cata- 
pults, and mangonels, and battering-rams, were all 
used ineffectually ; while the besieged, in a variety of 
sallies, harassed night and day the Christian camp, 
and destroyed many of the assailants. 

The consequences 1 of their first improvidence 
were soon bitterly visited on the heads of the cru- 
saders. Famine began to spread in the camp ; and 
pestilential diseases, engendered by unwholesome food 
and the neighbourhood of a large tract of marshy 
land, in the autumn and winter seasons raged through 
the hosts of the cross, and slew more fearfully 
even than the arrows of the enemy. Death in every 
shape grew familiar to their eyes, and the thought of 
passing to another world lost all the salutary horror 
which is so great a check on vice. Crimes of various 
descriptions were common ; 2 and the sharp urgency 
of famine, joined with that horrible contempt of all 
human ties, which the extreme of mortal need alone 
can bring, induced many of the crusaders, deprived 
of other aliments, to feed upon the dead bodies 
of the slain. 3 At the same time, the Turks suffered 
not their miseries to pass without aggravation, but 
kept the unsparing sword constantly at their throats : 4 
while, by a number of spies dressed in the garb of 
Greeks and Armenians, the garrison became aware 
of all the movements and necessities of their besiegers. 5 
To correct the crimes of the camp, a court was in- 
stituted, with full power to try, and punish ; w T hile to 
prevent the immorality, which was growing too glaring 
for endurance, the women were separated from the 
general host, and provided for and protected apart. 

At the same time, Boemond employed a somewhat 

1 Raimond d'Agiles ; Albert d'Aix ; Guibert de Nogent, lib. iv. ; 
Robert. 

2 Raimond d'Agiles ; Albert of Aix ; Guibert de Nogent. 

3 Malmsbury. 4 Albert; Raimond d'Agiles. 

s Guibert de Nogent; Robertus Monachus, lib. iv. 

K 



130 



HISTOB.Y OF CHIVALRY. 



savage mode of freeing the army from the spies by 
which it was infested. Having detected some Turks 
in disguise, he caused them to be slain and roasted 
in his presence ; declaring, that famine knew no deli- 
cacies, and that in future he should feed upon such 
fare. Still, however, the mortality and the dearth 
increased ; and though an excursion made by Boemoncl 1 
and Robert of Flanders brought a temporary supply to 
the camp, yet that was soon improvidently wasted like 
the rest, and the scarcity became more rigorous than 
ever. Desertion of course followed. 2 Amongst such 
a multitude, there were many whose hearts were not 
of that firm and all-enduring mould, which could 
alone carry on an enterprise surrounded by such 
horrors and distresses. Taticius, 3 the Greek, upon 
pretence of searching for assistance at Constantinople, 
retreated with the few troops he commanded ; and his 
example was fatal to the resolution of many others. 
Various bodies of crusaders abandoned the army, and 
found refuge in the different Christian states that 
still subsisted in the neighbouring countries : many 
tried to tread their way back to Europe; and the 
Count de Melun, 4 a celebrated warrior, but a noto- 
rious plunderer, attempted to quit the host of the 
cross, and seek some other adventure, where personal 
danger was not accompanied by famine and privation. 
Even Peter the Hermit himself, 5 no longer looked 
upon as a great leader or an inspired preacher, seeing 
misery, death, and horror, pursuing the object of all 
his enthusiasm, and feeling himself, perhaps, less 
valued than his zeal merited, was abandoned by that 
ardour which had been his great support. Whereas, 
had he been still regarded as a prophet, or followed as 

1 Guibert ; Albert ; Robert. Mon. 2 Raimond d'Agiles. 

3 Ibid. ; Guibert ; Robertus Monachus. 

4 Guibert says he was a boasting coward ; but this is contra- 
dicted by others. 

5 Guibert de Nogent ; Robert, 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY* 



131 



a mighty chief, he would probably have borne the ex- 
tremity of suffering without a murmur ; now, told to en- 
dure want and wretchedness as a private individual, he 
yielded like the weakest of those that surrounded him, 
and tried to flee from the pangs which he had no 
stimulus to endure. Both of these fugitives 1 were 
brought back by Tancred ; and after undergoing 
a severe reprimand, were forced to vow that they 
would never abandon the enterprise till the army had 
reached Jerusalem. 

In the mean while, 2 the camp of the crusaders re- 
ceived embassies from two different and unexpected 
quarters. Which arrived first, or at what period of 
the siege either arrived, is of little consequence, and 
impossible exactly to determine ; for on this subject, 
as well as every other collateral circumstance, each 
of the contemporary authors differs from his fellows ; 
and the historian may think himself fortunate when he 
finds them agreeing even on the principal facts. The 
news of the progress of the Christian host had spread 
even to Cairo ; 3 and the Calif of Egypt, from whose 
hands Syria had been wrested by the Turks, sent de- 
puties to the leaders of the crusade, probably more 
with the intent of ascertaining their real condition, 
and the likelihood of their ultimate success, than for 
the purpose of binding himself to them by any formal 
treaty. His messengers, however, were charged to 
congratulate the Latins on their progress, and to 
offer the most advantageous terms of union, if they 
would consent to act in concert with the Egyptian 
power. They 4 detailed the mild and liberal measures 
which the calif had employed towards the Christians 
of their country, and they engaged the leaders to send 
back ambassadors to the court of their sovereign. 5 

1 Guibert ; Robertus Monachus, lib. iv. 

2 Robert. Monac. 3 Albert of Aix. 

4 Raimond d'Agiles ; Vertot ; Guibert ; William of Tyre. 

5 This is one of the points on which the authorities of the day 

K 2 



132 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



After the siege had continued some time, a most 
welcome aid, both in men and stores, arrived at the 
little port of St. Simeon, situated at the mouth of 
the Orontes. This town had already, for many years, 
served as the seaport to Antioch, which, in its high 
prosperity, 1 had carried on considerable trade with 
the Italian cities of the Mediterranean; and to it the 
states of Genoa and Pisa, now sent a large rein- 
forcement of soldiers, 2 and several ship-loads of pro- 
visions. 

The famished crusaders proceeded towards the spot 
in straggling crowds, and Boemond, 3 with the Count of 
Toulouse, at the head of some regular troops, marched 
down to escort their newly- arrived brethren, and the 
supplies they were conveying, to the general camp of 
the crusaders. The Turks of Antioch, however, let no 
opportunity of vengeance and annoyance pass unem- 
ployed. Boemond, embarrassed with a multitude of 
rabble, and encumbered with baggage, was encountered, 
as he returned through the mountains, by a large body 
of Moslems, who, taking him unprepared, slew a 
great number of the people, and put the leaders 
and their knights to flight. Boemond arrived breath- 
less at the camp, but the rumour of the battle had 
preceded him. Godfrey of Bouillon 4 was already in 

are in direct opposition to each other. Mills has chosen the 
opinion of Robertus Monachus, who states that the message 
of the calif was haughty and insolent. I have followed another 
version of the story, because I find it supported by a greater 
weight of evidence, and because I do"not think the calif would 
have taken the trouble of sending all the way from Egypt, to 
insult a party of men whose persevering conduct showed that 
they were not likely to be turned back by words. Guibert says 
that the calif promised even to embrace the Christian faith, in 
case the crusaders overcame the Turks, and restored to him his 
Syrian dominions. Albert of Aix also vouches the same pro- 
posal, which, however improbable, might have been made for 
the purpose of deceiving the crusaders. 

1 Robertson's Historical Disquisition on India. 

2 Robert, lib, iv . 3 Albert of Aix. 4 Albert ; Robert. Mon. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY* 



133 



the saddle; and now, joined by Raimond and Boe- 
mond, together with Hugh of Vermandois, the Duke 
of Normandy, and Robert of Flanders, he advanced 
to the top of the hills, behind which the victorious 
Turks were winding onward, on their return to the 
city. 

A skirmish took place for the position on the moun- 
tains, but the Christians obtained it with little diffi- 
culty; and thus cut off the enemy from the town. 1 
The Turks were forced to fight once more ; but they 
were opposed no longer by an undisciplined crowd ; 
and the Chivalry of Europe never displayed that almost 
superhuman valour 2 which distinguished them, with 
greater effect. Allowing even for the exaggeration of 
eulogy, the efforts of the knights must have been ex- 
traordinary. Godfrey is reported to have mown the 
heads of the Turks as a mower strikes down the thistles ; 
and all the authorities of that day, repeat the tale of his 
having at one blow severed an armed infidel in twain, 
though protected by his cuirass. 3 Every chief rivalled 
the other ; and, beyond all doubt, several of the in- 
fidels must have fallen by the hand of each knight. 
While thus the sword raged amongst the Turkish host, 
many made their way to the bridge, and rushed across 
it in such crowds, that hundreds were thrust over into 
the water. On the other side, too, Boemond, with a 
large body of pikemen on foot, opposed their passage, 4 
and hurled them at the point of the lance into the river, 
the banks of which were lined with the crusaders, 
who repelled even those that swam to land. 5 Thus 
lasted the fight, till the sun going down put a stop to 
the carnage ; and the Christians, with songs of vic- 
tory and loaded with spoil, returned to their camp for 
the night. More than two thousand men, several 
of whom were of high rank, were left by the Turks 
on the field of battle : a multitude found death in 

1 Albert of Aix, lib. iii. 

2 Robertas, lib. iv. 3 Robert. ; Albert of Aix, lib. iii, 
4 Guibert ; Albert of Aix, lib. iii. * Robertus ; Albert. 



134 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



the Orontes ; but the number of the fallen was never 
correctly ascertained, 1 although the Christians, with 
the characteristic barbarity of the time, dug up many 
of the dead bodies that the Turks had buried during 
the night. 2 

Various efforts both from within and without were 
made to raise the siege, but in vain. On one occasion 
an immense body of Saracens, Arabs, and Turks, was 
defeated by seven hundred Christian knights, to 
which small number 3 the disposable cavalry of the 
army was reduced. Famine, however, disease, and 
tempests, did more to alarm and destroy the crusading 
force than all the efforts of the infidels. The winds 4 
became so high that the tents even of the chiefs were 
blown down, and for some time they were forced to 
sleep in the open air. An earthquake 5 was felt towards 
the beginning of the year, and was of course con- 
sidered as an omen. A comet, 6 too, blazed through the 
sky ; but as the superstitious fancied they beheld 
in it the form of the cross, this rather increased than 
abated their hope. In the midst of these circum- 
stances Stephen, 7 Count of Blois, never very famous 
for his valour, pretended illness, and retired from the 
army of the crusade accompanied by four thousand 
men, whom he led to Alexanclretta. A more serious 
desertion, also, was threatened, though no design ever 
existed of its execution : Boemond 8 himself began to 
murmur at the length of the siege. He was poor, he 
declared : he had given up every thing in his native 
country for the cross, and he could not waste his blood 
and treasure, and see all his soldiers fall in a siege 

1 Five thousand perished on the bridge and in the water, ac- 
cording to Robert the Monk. 

2 Robertus Monachus. 

3 Guibert mentions previously that the number of horses was 
reduced to a thousand, lib. iv. 

4 Robertus ; Guibert. 5 Raimond d'Agiles. ! 

6 Guibert, lib. v.; Fulcher, cap. 7. 

7 Will. Tyr.; Albert; Fulcher, cap. 8 
6 Raimond d'Agiles. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



135 



which was to be productive of no advantage to him- 
self. Such murmurs had their object, and might per- 
haps spring, in some degree, from a weak quarrel with 
Godfrey of Bouillon, on the subject of a tent, which 
had been sent to the duke by the Prince of Armenia, 
but which had been waylaid by Pancrates> the Arme- 
nian I have had occasion to mention in speaking of 
Baldwin ; and had by him been given to Boemond. 
The Prince of Tarentum had been obliged to yield it 
by the decision of all the leaders ; but though this was 
a subject of irritation, he had more ambitious projects 
in view. 

Boemond for some time, through a proselyte Turk 
to whom he had given his name at baptism, had kept 
up a communication with the commander of One of 
the chief towers, on that part of the city-wall which 
looked towards the gorges of the mountains. This 
man, 1 by birth an Armenian, had embraced Mahomet- 
anism, and raised himself high in the opinion of the 
Prince of Antioch. He had in consequence received 
the command of the important 2 station I have men- 
tioned, while his two brothers occupied the neighbour- 
ing towers. 3 The origin of his communication with 
Boemond is variously stated, but the event is the same. 
He was won over by magnificent promises to engage 
that he would admit that chief and his followers into 
the town when called upon. 

Boemond, however, did not intend at all, that the 
intelligence which he had thus practised within the walls, 
should be lost to himself, and benefit others alone : 4 but 
knowing 5 the j ealous nature of his companions, he waited 

1 William of Tyre says lie was a no ole Armenian, chief of the 
tribe of Benizerra, or the sons of the armour- forgers, and calls 
him Emir Feir. Aboulfaragi, however, says he Was a Persian, 
and calls him Ruzebach. 

2 Guibert ; Will. Tyr. ; Albert. * Guibert, 

4 William of Tyre, lib. v. ; Robert, lib. v. ; Guibert, lib. v. 

5 This transaction is reported variously. Albert of Aix says, 
that the proposal of Boemond was at once received with joy. 



136 



HISTORY OP CHIVALRY. 



patiently till circumstances compelled them to concede 
to him the sovereignty of Antioch, in the event of its 
being taken by his means. At first the proposal was 
rejected by the other leaders; but soon, increasing" 
reports that an immense army, commanded by the 
warlike Sultaun of Persia, was advancing to the relief 
of the besieged, induced the Christian chiefs, under the 
distress and despondency which affected the army 
generally, to concur in the views of the ambitious 
Prince of Tarentum. Boemond then intrusted his 
secret to Godfrey and the other great leaders, but it 
was under the most solemn promises of silence 1 on the 
subject; for, notwithstanding all the precautions that 
could be taken, it was well known that the Turkish 
spies infested the Christian camp. With the utmost cau- 
tion all the measures were concerted for carrying the 
project into effect, and through the whole army the 
rumour was spread that the preparations made by the 
chiefs, were for the purpose of laying an ambush for the 
Persian forces, that were approaching. Phirouz, the 
Armenian traitor, was warned that Boemond was about 
to take advantage of his offer; and, as soon as night 
had completely set in, the Prince of Tarentum, with a 
body of chosen knights, proceeded into the mountains, 3 
as if with the design of surprising the host of the 
Persians. Only seven hundred men, however, were 
selected for this perilous expedition; and marching 
in the dead of the night, they crossed the valleys 
and precipices of the rocky chain on which the 
city rested, and halted in a deep dell at some dis- 

Raoul of Caen gives a different account, and states that the 
Bishop of Puy, on the suggestion of Boemond, suggested that the 
town should be given to him who could first obtain it. Gui- 
bert and Robert relate it as I have done above. The Archbishop 
of Tyre declares that no one opposed the proposal of Boemond 
but the Count of Toulouse. 

1 Will. Tyr. ; Albert of Aix ; Guibert, lib. v. 

2 Albert of Aix $ Robertus, lib. v. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY* 



137 



tance from the walls. The wind was blowing in 
sharp gusts, and its howlings among the gorges of 
the mountains prevented the tramp of the armed 
men from reaching the watchers on the walls. 
Having assembled their forces in the valley, God- 
frey and Boemond explained to their followers the 
real nature of the enterprise they meditated. A single 
interpreter was sent forward, to confer with their 
traitorous coadjutor, and to ascertain that all was pre- 
pared. Phirouz assured him that he was ready, and 
asked eagerly where were the knights ; being told that 
they were near, 1 he pressed them to advance, lest any 
thing should excite the suspicion of the other com- 
manders, especially as, from time to time, men with 
lighted torches patrolled the wall during the night, 
and it was necessary that they should take advantage 
of the interval. Godfrey, Robert of Flanders, and 
Boemond, instantly led the troops to the foot of the 
fortifications; a rope was let down, and a ladder 
of hides raised. At first, 2 no one could be found to 
mount. Unaccustomed to carry on any warlike opera- 
tions during the night, a thousand unwonted fears 
took possession of the bosoms of the crusaders. At 
length, urged by the chiefs, and encouraged by Phi- 
rouz from above, one knight- — which of the body is 
not certain 3 — began to ascend the ladder, and was 

1 Robertus, lib. v., 2d June, A. d. 1098. 

* Guibert, lib. v. ; Raimond d'Agiles ; Albert. 

3 There is some reason to believe that Boemond was the first 
who entered, as stated by William of Tyre ; but as Albert of Aix 
makes no mention of the fact, and as Guibert de Nogent declares 
positively that Boemond, who is certainly his favourite hero, did 
not mount till sixty others had preceded him /as Raimond d'Agiles 
gives the honour of the feat to Fulcher de Chartres, and as Ro- 
bert the Monk confirms that assertion, I have left the matter in 
doubt, as I found it. In regard to the story of Phirouz murder- 
ing his brother in his sleep, because he would not aid in his de- 
sign, I believe fully that it was but one of those ornamental false- 
hoods with which men are ever fond of decorating great and ex- 
traordinary events. I doubt not that the tale was current in the 



138 



HISTORY OF CHIVALUY. 



followed by several others. Silence then succeeded, 
and temporary hesitation once more took possession of 
the force below : but the voices of their companions who 
had ascended, whispering assurances of safety and 
fidelity, soon renewed their courage, and many at- 
tempting to climb the ladder at once 1 it gave way 
under their weight, precipitating them upon the lance- 
heads that were buried in the fosse. The clang of their 
armour as they fell was a new cause of alarm, lest the 
sound should reach the other towers: so loud, however, 
was the roaring of the wind, and the hollow rushing 
sound of the Orontes, that the noise was not heard by 
any but those immediately around. The ladder was 
easily repaired, and more than sixty knights had 
reached the top of the battlements when the torch of 
the patrol began to gleam along the walls in its ap- 
proach towards them. Hid 2 in the shadows of the 
tower, the crusaders waited the officer's approach, and 
before he could spread the alarm death had fixed the 
seal of silence on his lips for ever. The knights now 
descended through the staircase in the masonry, and 
finding the soldiers of the guard asleep, they speedily 
rendered their slumbers eternal. A postern gate was 
then forced open, 3 and the seven hundred champions 
rushed into the city, sounding their horns in every 
direction, as had been agreed between the chiefs, in 

time of William of Tyre, who reports it ; and the act was, beyond 
question, looked upon as a noble and devoted one on the part of 
Phirouz ; but as I find nothing to confirm it in any book I pos- 
sess, except the simple fact of that Armenian having been a trai- 
torous rascal, please God, till further evidence, I will look upon 
it all as a lie. Robert the Monk represents, in very glowing 
terms, the grief of Phirouz for the death of his two brothers, 
w T ho were killed in the melee. Phirouz became a Christian, at 
least in name ; and, to cover the baseness of his perfidy, he de* 
clared that the Saviour himself had appeared to him in a vision, 
commanding him to deliver up the town. 

1 Albert of Aix ; Guibert, lib. v.; Raimond d'Agiles. 

2 Albert of Aix, lib. iv. 

3 Guibert ; Albert j Raimond d'Agiles. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY* 



139 



order that on this signal the town might be at the same 
time attacked from without. 

It would be painful to dwell upon the scene of 
slaughter that ensued. The Turks were soon awakened 
by the shrieks of their falling comrades, and by the trum- 
pets of their victorious foe : they ran to arms, 1 and for 
many hours manfully opposed their conquerors hand 
to hand, though all hope of victory was now over. 
The Greeks and Armenians hastened to force open the 
gates and give entrance to the rest of the army of the 
cross; but, in the darkness that prevailed, many of the 
Christians as well as the Turks were slaughtered by 
the victors, who butchered all ages, sexes, and con- 
ditions, with indiscriminate rage and haste, 2 in which 
fear and agitation had probably as much to do as cru- 
elty and fanaticism. 

During the whole of the night the crusaders con- 
tinued the massacre of their enemies ; and Albert of 
Aix 3 declares, that the following morning they found 
they had slain many of their own countrymen by mis- 
take. Such a fact is not difficult to conceive of a body 
of men, wandering without guide through a hostile 
town, with the paths of which they were unacquainted. 
As ever follows the violent capture of a large city, the 
soldiery first satisfied themselves with bloodshed, and 
perhaps added some extra cruelties to gratify their 
fanaticism, and then betook themselves to plunder and 
debauchery; nevertheless, they committed not greater 
excesses than we have seen perpetrated in days not very 
distant from our own, by the troops of civilized nations, 
without the fiery stimulus of religious zeal for a pal- 
liation. 

I mean not to defend the cruelties of the crusaders, 
but I mean to say, that they were not extraordinary in 
that age, or in any age that has yet passed : God only 

1 Raimond ; Robertas Monachus, lib. vi.; Albert. 

2 Guibert, lib. v. 3 Albert of Aix, lib. iv. 



140 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY* 



knows what may be to come. The crusaders treated 
the infidels, as the infidels had often treated the 
Christians; and as Christians, unhappily, have too 
often treated Christians like themselves. Their plun- 
der was not at all of a more atrocious kind than 
that which attends every storm ; and as to the hypo- 
crisy 1 with which Mills charges them, that writer quite 
loses sight of the spirit of the age on which he writes, 
and metes men's actions by a standard that they 
never knew. The crusaders were not hypocrites, 
they were merely fanatics; and in the relentless fury 
with which they pillaged, injured, and massacred the 
Turks, they thought they did God as good and pleas- 
ing service as in singing praises to him for the victory 
they had obtained. They were fearfully wrong in 
their principle it is true, but still they acted upon prin- 
ciple, and therefore in this they were not hypocrites. 

Baghasian, the Turkish Prince of Antioch, 2 fled with 
a part of his troops to the citadel, but finding that 
security could not long be found within the walls of 
the town, he escaped alone to the mountains, where he 
was waylaid by some Syrian Christians and slain. His 
head, with all the venerable marks of extreme age, was 
struck off by his slayers, and carried, with his rich 
sword-belt, into Antioch, where it proved an accept- 
able present to the rude victors. 

Though much spoil 3 of various kinds was found in 
Antioch, little that could satisfy the cravings of hun- 
ger had been left by the Turks. They, themselves 
closely blockaded, had been driven nearly to want; and 
the Christians soon began to suffer from the very pre- 
cautions they had formerly taken against their enemies. 
In the first joy of their conquest, too, the little discipline 
that ever existed in a chivalrous host, was completely 
relaxed, and before it could be sufficiently restored 

1 See Mills's History of the Crusades. 

2 Robertus Monachus, lib. vi.; Guibertj Fulcher ; Albert. 

3 Guibert, lib. v.; Robertus ; Albert. 

i 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



141 



for necessary measures to be taken in order to procure 
supplies, famine was in the city, and the hosts of the 
Persian sultaun 1 encamped beneath the walls. 

The invasion of the Christians, the fall of Nice, and 
the siege of Antioch, had spread consternation through 
the empires of the crescent; and the monarch of Persia 
had roused himself from the contemptuous sloth in 
which he had first heard of the crusades, and raised 
an immense army, to sweep away, as the Moslem ex- 
pressed it, the band of locusts that had fallen upon 
the land. 

Kerboga, or Corbohan, as he was named by the 
Christians, the Emir of Mosul, and favourite of the 
calif, took the command of the army ; and being 
joined by Kilidge Asian, the Sultaun of Roum, 
with a considerable force, proceeded at the head of 
about three hundred thousand men towards Antioch. 
He would, in all probability, have reached that city in 
time to prevent its fall, had he not turned from the 
direct road to ravage the principality of Edessa, and 
dispossess Baldwin. 2 From thence, however, he was 
called, before he could accomplish his object, by the 
news of the Christians' success, and in a few days An- 
tioch was once more invested. The first attempt of the 
Moslems was to throw supplies into the citadel, which 
the Latins had hitherto neglected to attack. In this they 
in some degree succeeded; and the crusaders, being 
roused to watchfulness, took what measures they could 
against further reinforcements reaching the castle. 

In the mean while the Christians who had suffered 
what appeared the extreme of privation while assailing 
the very walls they now defended, were reduced to a 
state of famine which beggars all description. 3 The 
most noisome animals, the most unsavoury herbs, be- 
came dainties at the tables of the great. The horses 

1 Guibert ; Albert of Aix. 

2 William of Tyre ; Albert of Aix. 

? Robertus, lib. vi, j Albert of Aix, lib. ir. ; William of Tyre. 



142 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY, 



that remained were slaughtered without consideration, 
and all virtue and order gave way under the pressure 
of necessity. 

All sorts of vice became rife, and debauchery grew 
the more horrid from being the debauchery of despair. 
The Persians, encamped closely round them, had burnt 
the vessels, destroyed the Port of St. Simeon, and cut 
off all communication with the neighbouring country. 
Nevertheless their guard was not so strict but that 
many of the crusaders escaped over the walls, 1 and 
fled to the Count of Blois at Alexandretta, excusing 
their pusillanimity by tales of the horrors they had 
undergone. Stephen of Blois now rejoicing in his 
timely evasion, abandoned his comrades altogether, 
and with the stragglers who had joined him from An- 
tioch, amongst whom were many knights and nobles 
of distinction, he retreated towards Constantinople. 2 
By the way he encountered a large force, commanded 
by Alexius, who was marching, not to succour the 
crusaders, whose condition he did not yet know, but 
to take advantage of their conquests. The cowardly 
monarch, in deep sympathy with the cowardly fugi- 
tives, turned his back upon Antioch, the moment he 
heard of its danger, and pursued his journey towards 
his capital, forcing along with him a considerable 
body of French and Italian crusaders, who, under the 
command of Guy, 3 the brother of Boemond, had been 
advancing to the aid of their brethren. The news 
of Alexius's approach had filled the hearts of the be- 
sieged with joy, and the tidings of his retreat of course 
cast them into still deeper despair. The soldiers 
forgot their honour and abandoned their posts, 
hiding in the houses and avoiding every thing that 
called them into activity. As a last resource to 
drive them to their duty, Boemond 4 set fire to 

1 Robertas Monachus, lib. vi. ; Guibert, lib. v. 

2 Albert of Aix. 3 Robertus, vi. ; Albert of Aix, 4 Guibert. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



143 



parts of the town where they were supposed prin- 
cipally to linger; but hope seemed extinguished in 
every breast, and though the inferior troops returned 
to some degree of energy, yet the leaders knew full 
well that without succour — and no succour was near — 
nothing short of a miracle could save them from their 
distress. Within the walls they starved, 1 and died, 
and wasted ; and they could hardly be expected to 
issue forth upon the enemy, when Godfrey him- 
self, their noblest leader, and tacitly their chief, was 
destitute of even a horse to carry him to the battle. 
At the same time, from the walls of the city, 
the luxuries of the Turkish camp might be beheld in 
tantalizing splendour. 2 Gold and jewels, and rich 
silks and beautiful horses, and gay seraglios, seemed 
rather indications of some joyous company than of a 
fierce besieging army. Troops of cattle, too, of all 
kinds, were seen feeding round about, while the acute 
tooth of famine was gnawing the entrails of those who 
stood and looked upon all the magnificence and profu- 
sion before them. 

Many even of the leaders of the crusade 3 were 
reduced to absolute beggary, and several became com- 
pletely dependent on the bounty of Godfrey for mere 
food, till he himself had no more to give. The people, 
accustomed to privation, still in some degree bore up, 
but the knights themselves gave way, and had it not 
been for the noble firmness of Adhemar, Bishop of 
Puy, Godfrey, Raimond, Boemond, and Tancred, the 
whole of the barons would have fled, and left the 
people to their fate. 4 

The chiefs I have named, however, never ceased 
their exertions. They bound themselves by the most 
solemn vows not to abandon each other or the cause 
they had undertaken ; and Tancred, always the first 
where chivalrous enthusiasm was concerned, pledged 

1 Guibert ; Fulcher ; Albert, lib. iv. 2 Guibert, lib. v. 

3 Albert of Aix, lib. iv. 4 Albert. 



144 



HISTORY OF CHIVAXRY. 



himself by oath not to turn back from the road to Je- 
rusalem so long as forty knights would follow his 
banner. At length superstition came to animate the 
courage of the soldiery. Visions were seen promising 
victory to those who endured to the last. The 
apostles, the saints, and even the Saviour appeared to 
many of the priests, who took care that their miracu- 
lous visitations should be noised abroad. 1 

Whether originating in the policy of the leaders, or 
in the cunning of the lower order of priests, these 
supernatural consolations had a prodigious effect upon 
people who, their reliance on every earthly means 
being gone, were fain to turn to heaven. Enthu- 
siasm, supported by superstition, proved a most ex- 
cellent nurse to hope. Activity, energy, resolution, re- 
turned ; and the wan and ghastly herds demanded 
loudly to be led against the enemy. One more pious 
fraud 2 was destined to be committed before the troops 
were brought to the last resource of an almost hopeless 
battle. A clerk of Provence, serving under Raimond 
of Toulouse, sought out the chiefs of the armament, 
and declared that St. Andrew the Apostle had mani- 
fested himself in a vision, and had revealed to him that 
the lance with which our Saviour's side was pierced, at 
the crucifixion, might be found in a certain spot in 
the church of St. Peter of Antioch. Accompanied by this 
holy relic the army was directed by the saint to issue 
forth upon the Saracens with assurances of victory. 

The Bishop of Puy, 3 whose religious feelings were of 
too pure a kind to practise, or even countenance, such 
cheats, declared that the tale must be false, and several 
chiefs agreed with him in opinion : 4 but Raimond 
of Toulouse and others strongly supported the story . 

1 Guibert ; Fulcher ; Albert. 

2 Raimond d'Agiles; Fulcher; William of Tyre; Albert; 
Guibert. 

3 Fulcher ; Raimond. 4 Radulph. Cadom. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



145 



and the whole of the leaders soon became convinced 
that good policy required the lance should be found, 
a battle seeming the only resource. As no support 
could be given to the bodies of the emaciated troops, 
it was as well, also, to stimulate their minds as far 
as possible. 

The lance was therefore sought for in form, and 
though at first it could not be discovered, because it 
was not there, it very naturally happened that no 
sooner did the clerk, who had been favoured with the 
vision, descend into the pit, 1 than the iron head w T as 
perceived, and brought up to the wonder and edification 
of the people. The matter being now decided, the 
hearts of the multitude were all enthusiasm, a great 
many more almost sacrilegious visions were seen, 
fasting and prayer, and the ceremonies of the church 
were used to excite and increase the popular ar- 
dour ; and, in the end, Peter the Hermit was sent 
out to the camp of Kerboga, 2 not to offer terms of 
capitulation, but rather to threaten vengeance, and to 
bid the Turks depart. The reply of the emir was as 
contemptuous as might have been expected, and 
Peter returned with a message that would have some- 
what quelled the daring of the crusaders, if it had 
been repeated. This, however, was prevented by God- 
frey, and every preparation made for a battle. 

The citadel, 3 I have before said, had remained in the 
hands of the Turks, who had fled thither on the taking 
of Antioch. Its commanding situation enabled the 
garrison to see whatever passed in the town ; and, the 
governor being strictly enjoined to give due notice to 
the army of Kerboga, of all the Christian movements, 
on the morning of the 28th of June, a. d. 1098, 
a black flag, 4 hoisted on the highest tower of that 

1 Raimond d'Agiles. 

2 Fulcher ; Raimond ; Albert ; Guibert of Nogent. 

3 Albert of Aix ; Raimond d'Agiles ; Will. Tyr. 

4 Albert of Aix. 

L 



146 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



fortress, announced to the besiegers that the Latins 
were about to march out and attack them. 

The army of the cross presented but a miserable 
sight; the ghastly hand of famine had wrought 
horribly on the wan countenances of the soldiery. 
Of all the fair Chivalry of Europe whose heavy horses 
and steel-clad limbs, had crushed like the fall of a 
mountain every thing that opposed them, but two 
hundred knights appeared mounted as was their wont. 1 
Those who could get them were glad to go forth upon 
mules and asses ; some, having sold or lost their arms, 
were furnished with the small shields and scimitars 
taken from the Turks ; and Godfrey of Bouillon him- 
self rode the borrowed horse of the Count of Tou- 
louse, who was left to guard the town. In this state 
of wretchedness, the crusading army marched out 
against a splendid force, which, at the beginning of the 
siege amounted to more than three hundred thousand 
fighting men, and had every day been increasing. 2 
Nevertheless, all was enthusiasm in the Christian 
ranks. The priests in their pontifical robes, 3 bearing 
crosses and holy banners, mingled with the soldiers, 
and, singing hymns of joy, already taught them to an- 
ticipate victory. The number of knights going to the 
fight on foot encouraged the common men by their 
presence and their example ; and in fact, though desti- 
tute of many of the physical means which had given 
them superiority in former battles, the valour and 
the self-confidence 4 which are the soul of victory, were 
never more present amongst the Christian warriors. 

Kerboga committed the great fault that has lost a 
thousand battles. He despised his enemy. When first 
the news was brought to him that the Christians were 
advancing, he was playing at chess, 5 and hardly rose 

1 Albert of Aix ; Guibert, lib. iii. 

2 Albert of Aix. 3 Guibert 5 Albert 5 Raimond. 

4 Raimond d'Agiles ; Fulcher. 

5 Raimond j Raoul de Caen. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 147 

from his game. It was only the complete route of 
two thousand men, whom he had stationed to defend 
the bridge, that convinced him the attack was serious. 
He thus lost the opportunity of annoying the crusa- 
ders as they defiled, and now he found his error and 
began to tremble for the consequences. 

Hugh of Vermandois, 1 Robert of Flanders, and the 
Duke of Normandy, each advanced steadily at the 
head of his followers towards the mountains, where 
the Turkish cavalry were likely to find more difficulty 
in 'manoeuvring. Godfrey of Bouillon followed ; and 
then Adhemar, Bishop of Puy, clothed in armour, 2 and 
bearing the sacred lance, led on the troops of Provence. 
Boemond and Tancred brought up the rear, and thus 
the whole wound on towards their position. 

Kerboga now used every effort to remedy his first 
neglect, and made several skilful movements for the 
purpose of surrounding the crusaders. They, on their 
part, with little attention to the arts of warfare, con- 
tinued to march on, their courage increasing rather 
than diminishing, and persuading themselves that even 
the morning dew of a fine summer's day, which re- 
freshed both themselves and their horses, was a special 
sign of favour from Heaven. 3 It is said that Kerboga, 
at this moment seized with a sudden and unaccount- 
able fear, sent messengers to declare that he would 
accept the terms formerly offered, and commit the de- 
cision of the quarrel to a combat of five or ten cham- 
pions to be chosen on each side. 4 

This proposal (if really made) was instantly re- 
fused, and Kerboga, drawn up before his camp, waited 
the attack of the Christians ; while Soliman or Kilidge 
Asian, taking a wide circuit with an immense force of 
cavalry, prepared to fall upon the rear of the army com- 

1 Raimond. 2 Raimond d'Agiles. 

3 Histor. Hieros. ; Jacob. Vit. 

4 Raimond d'Agiles ; Fulcher. 

L 2 



148 



HISTORY OF CHIVAL&T. 



manded by Boemond. To conceal this evolution the 
vizier caused the dry grass and weeds, with which great 
part of the ground was covered, to be set on fire, and 
by the smoke thus raised, 1 succeeded in obscuring the 
movements of his cavalry. During this manoeuvre 
he extended his line, and endeavoured to turn the 
flanks of the crusading army. The banner-bearers,* 
in front of the host were now within bow-shot of the 
enemy, and the arrows began to fall like hail on either 
side. The columns of the Christians came up one after 
another to the attack, and fighting hand to hand 
forced back the Turkish centre upon their camp, so 
that in that part of the field victory seemed leaning 
towards the champions of the cross. 

At the same time, however, Solimanhad fallen upon 
the rear of Boemond, 3 who, enveloped by infinitely 
superior forces, was pressed hard and separated from 
the rest of the army. The dense cloud occasioned 
by the burning weeds embarrassed the Lombards and 
Italians, and the sword of the Persians was reaping a 
terrible harvest in the ranks of the crusaders. Tail- 
ored flew to the rescue of Boemond, and Hugh of 
Vermandois as well as Godfrey of Bouillon, abandon- 
ing the attack 4 they were making on the centre of 
the infidel army, turned to the rear, and succeeded 
in repelling the troops of Soliman. Still, the 
battle raged undecided; 5 while Kerboga used every 
effort to secure the victory, and hurrying up the 
columns from his wings, caused them to charge the 
rear of Godfrey as he advanced to the succour of the 
Prince of Tarentum. All was now confusion in that 
part of the field, the fight became hand to hand, 
blade crossed with blade, and man struggled against 
man. Meanwhile the Bishop of Puy, still bearing 
the sacred lance, 6 pressed forward upon a corps at 

1 Guibert. 2 Will. Tyr. lib. vi. 3 Raoul of Caen. 
4 Albert. 5 ibid. 6 Raimond d'Agiles. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



149 



the head of which Kerboga had placed himself ; and 
with the Provencals urged the battle manfully against 
the infidels. The Persians fought bravely, and their 
numbers, as well as their great superiority in cavalry, 
gave them vast advantages over the Latins. Re- 
turning again and again to the charge with un- 
equalled rapidity, fighting as well when their columns 
were broken as when their ranks were entire, and un- 
rivalled in the use of the bow, they gave the crusa- 
ders not a moment to pause, without some enemy to 
attack, and some blow to repel. 

At length a report was raised through the Christian 
host that the saints were fighting on their side ; and 
either by accident, by the force of imagination, or by 
some preconcerted artifice, the crusaders saw — or 
thought they saw — some figures clothed in white rai- 
ment, and mounted on white horses, coming over the 
mountains to their aid. 1 All fear, all suspense was at an 
end. The enthusiasm was prodigious, extraordinary, 
overpowering. The redoubted battle-cry " God 
wills it ! God wills it !" once more rang over the field 
and the weapons of the Christians seemed swayed by 
the force of giants. At the same time, amongst the 
Moslems spread the sickening news that the Latins 
had forced their way into the camp. The hopes of the 
infidels fell, and terror took possession of them, while the 
courage of the people of the cross raised into ecstasy 
by the belief of visible aid from on high, bore down all 
that opposed it, and soon converted feeble resistance 
into flight. In vain Kerboga tried to rally his troops, 
the panic was general, the pursuers fierce and resolute; 
and the mighty army of the Persians was scattered to 
the four winds of heaven. Tancred, 2 leaving to others 
the plunder of the camp, followed the fugitives over 
the hills, and prevented them from reassembling, 

1 Will. Malmsbury ; Guibert de Nogent ; Raimond d'Agiles. 
3 Albert ; Raoul of Caen ; Guibert. 



150 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



while the rest of the chiefs entered the tents of the 
Persians, and added to their slaughtered enemies the 
blood of the helpless and unoffending. 1 A number of 
women and children were either slain by the sword 
or borne down in the flight, and an immense booty in 
gold, arms, horses, cattle, and rich vestments, made 
the host of the crusade richer than even when it took 
its departure from Europe. The pavilion of Kerboga 
himself, though not the most valuable, was, perhaps, 
the most curious part of the spoil, being formed like a 
town, with walls, towers, and battlements, 2 and com- 
prising streets, squares, and avenues within itself. It 
fell to the share of Boemond, and was capable, they 
say, of containing two thousand men. 

Sixty-nine thousand Turks, 3 died in the battle of An- 
tioch, while the loss of the crusaders is not estimated 
at more than ten thousand ; but it must be remem- 
bered that this is the account of the Christians them- 
selves. One of the immediate consequences 4 of this 
great victory was the surrender of the citadel of 
Antioch, which was now given up in despair. A con- 
siderable number of the soldiers forming its garrison 
embraced Christianity, and remained in the town ; 
while the rest, who firmly adhered to their ancient 
faith, were honourably conducted beyond the conquered 
territory. The whole army, loaded with wealth, and 
rejoicing in abundance, entered once more the walls 
of the city, and offered up to Heaven manifold thanks- 
givings for the victory they had obtained. The only 
occurrence that for the time troubled the public 
joy 5 was, that the Count of Toulouse, who had re- 
mained behind to guard the town, looked upon the 
citadel, which had surrendered previous to the return 
of the host, as his own conquest, and had raised his 

1 Fulcher ; Albert. 2 Guibert ; Albert. 

8 Mills. 4 Guibert; Fulcher. 

5 Raimond d'Agiles ; William of Tyre. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



151 



banner on the walls. 1 The council of leaders deter- 
mined that their agreement with Boemond, embraced 
the castle as well as the town, and Raimond was, 
in consequence, forced to resign the authority he 
had usurped, to the Prince of Tarentum. The count, 
notwithstanding, still retained possession of one of 
the city-gates, 2 with its adjoining towers, which he 
maintained for some months, but was obliged, at last, 
by force of arms, to yield the whole. 

The first occupation of the crusaders, after quieting 
this dispute, was to restore the temples, which the 
Moslems had converted into mosques, to the service of 
the Christian religion. The priests were re-established, 
the ceremonies of the church recalled ; and, though 
they adhered to the forms of the Latin ritual, with wise 
and Christian moderation they abstained from inter- 
fering with the Greek patriarch, notwithstanding that 
they considered his dogmas heretical. The next 
question more related to their further advance into 
the country ; and the people, proud in their victory, 
and forgetful of privations in the fulness of sudden 
satiety, clamoured loudly to be led on to Jerusalem. 
The chiefs, 3 however, saw how greatly repose was re- 
quired ; their army was lamentably diminished ; most 
of the soldiers were suffering from wounds or weari- 
ness, and few, though refreshed by their lately-acquired 
stores, were capable of bearing more fatigue and fresh 
necessities. At the same time, the fiery months of 
August and September, with the exposed plains of 
Syria, lay before them ; and it was known that water, 
scanty on the road to Jerusalem even in the best 
times, was now hardly to be procured. 

On these considerations, the chiefs determined to 
postpone their advance till October, and in the mean 
while despatched Hugh 4 the Great, Count of Ver- 

1 See note IX. 

2 Albert of Aix ; William of Tyre ; Raimond d'Agiles. 

3 Guibert. 4 Ibid. ; Albert § William of Tyre. 



152 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



mandois, with Baldwin of Mons, Count of Hainault, 
to the court of Constantinople. These ambassadors 
were instructed to urge the base Alexius to fulfil the 
many promises which he had made and neglected ; and 
to threaten him, in case of his refusal, with the anger 
both of God and man. 

Baldwin of Mons was betrayed into a Turkish 
ambuscade, and his fate was never clearly ascer- 
tained ; l but Hugh of Vermandois, made his way 
safely through Asia Minor, and arrived at Constan- 
tinople. Admitted to the presence of Alexius, he 
detailed the sufferings of the Christians, and their di- 
minished forces, and showed the necessity which they 
felt of supplies and reinforcements. He announced 
also their victory over the Turks, and the signal humi- 
liation which had been inflicted on the proud Moslems. 
This news, in both respects gratified Alexius ; but, 
equally well content that the Turks should be made 
weak, and that the Latins should not grow strong, 
he found the affairs of the east, progressing exactly as 
he could have desired, and determined to leave them 
in the course which they had themselves taken. The 
wrath of Heaven for his broken engagements, and the 
vengeance of the crusaders on the same score, were far 
too remote evils, for the narrow-minded despot to yield 
them any consideration. Hugh of Vermandois — 
now near home 2 and the comforts which he had so 
long abandoned, anticipating little pleasure and no 
small danger on the journey back, and having neither 
satisfactory news nor necessary reinforcements to take 
to the crusaders — determined upon pursuing his 
journey into France, and leaving his companions to 
their fate. Knowing, however, that it would be diffi- 
cult to justify himself in their eyes, he did not even 
take the trouble to write for that purpose ; others on 
his part have done so, for posterity, and have failed. 



1 Guibert 5 Albert, 



2 Guibert, 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



153 



CHAPTER VIII. 



PESTILENCE IN ANTIOCH— DEATH OF THE BISHOP OF PUY— THE CHIEFS SEPA- 
RATE— SIEGE OF MARRAH— CANNIBALISM— DISPUTES BETWEEN THE COUNT 
OF TOULOUSE AND BOEMOND — THE COUNT MARCHES TOWARDS JERUSALEM — 
8IEGE OF ARCHAS — GODFREY OF BOUILLON MARCHES— SIEGE OF GHIBEL — 
TREACHERY OF RAIMOND — FRAUD OF THE HOLY LANCE INVESTIGATED — 
ORDEAL OF FIRE — DECISIVE CONDUCT OF THE CRUSADERS TOWARDS THE 
DEPUTIES OF ALEXIUS, AND THE CALIF OF EGYPT— CONDUCT OF THE CRU- 
SADERS TOWARDS THE EMIR OF TRIPOLI— FIRST SIGHT OF JERUSALEM — 
SIEGE AND TAKING OF THEl CITY— FANATICAL MASSACRES. 

The crusaders 1 in Antioch had reason to regret they 
had not at once marched onward. A pestilence began 
to spread in the city, and multitudes were buried every 
day. Amongst the first was the venerable Bishop of 
Puy, 2 whose high qualities of mind and excellent cha- 
racter as a priest had given much dignity and strength 
to the enterprise. Many celebrated knights also fell 
victims to this plague; and all the dissensions 3 and 
crimes that indolence, acting on semibarbarians can 
produce, began to spring up within the walls of Antioch. 
To effect some change, the chiefs agreed to separate, 
and to canton their men in the countries round about. 
Boemond proceeded to reduce all Cilicia to obedience, 
and carried on a desultory but successful warfare 
against the Turks. Godfrey 4 led his men to the assist- 
ance of the Emir of Hezas, who solicited his aid 

1 Albert of Aix. 2 Guibert ; Raimond d'Agiles ; Albert. 
8 Raimond d'Agiles. 4 Albert of Aix, 



154 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



against the Sultaun of Aleppo. Being joined by 
Baldwin, and by some anxiliary forces from Antioch, 
Godfrey succeeded in delivering the emir, who was 
besieged in his fortress by the sultaun. Hezas was 
then placed by the prince under the protection of his 
new allies, whom he found somewhat exacting in their 
friendship. The plague still raging in Antioch, God- 
frey turned his steps towards Edessa, the principality 
of his brother Baldwin, to whom he v/as now fully 
reconciled. After a short repose at Turbessel, 1 he 
engaged in the wars which his brother was carrying 
on against the Turks, whose dominions surrounded 
Edessa, and also punished Pancrates for the rapine 
which he had for some time exercised with impunity 
against all parties. The other princes in various 
bodies carried on the same separate hostilities against 
the Saracens, and many towns were added to the 
Christian dominions* 

The time fixed for the march of the general army 
at length arrived ; but, whether from a taste for the 
desultory sort of warfare to which they had now ha- 
bituated themselves, or from the hope of still receiving 
some aid from Europe, the crusaders tarried on their 
way, and laid siege to Marrah. 2 The Moslems made a 
brave resistance, and the Latins having, with their 
wonted improvidence, begun the siege without any 
supplies whatever, were soon again reduced to fa- 
mine and the most horrible cannibalism. 3 At length 
Marrah was taken by storm on the arrival of Boemond 
and his forces. The slaughter was terrible, and a 
repetition of all the scenes on the taking of Antioch, 
was here enacted with many circumstances of aggra- 
vation. New disputes now arose between Boemond 
and the Count of Toulouse, upon the possession of 
Marrah ; the Prince of Tarentum refusing to give up 

1 William of Tyre. 2 Albert; Guibert. 

3 Fulcher; Albert ofAix; Guibert; RaoulofCaen. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



155 



the portion of the city he had conquered, till Raimond 
should yield the towers which he still held in Antioch. 1 
Days and weeks passed in these unworthy contests, 
other chiefs attempting in vain to reconcile the two 
ambitious princes. At length the people, indignant 
at the conduct of their leaders, broke out into revolt, 
and destroyed the fortifications of Marrah, in spite of 
all that could be done to prevent them, 2 vowing that 
it, at least, should not be a new cause of delay. They 
declared also that they would choose a chief for 
themselves, who should conduct them to Jerusalem. 
This, of course, compelled the leaders of the army to 
begin their march, but it in no degree produced a 
reconciliation, and Raimond of Toulouse, 3 with Robert 
of Normandy, and Tancred, proceeded on their w T ay 
to Jerusalem, leaving the rest of the princes to fol- 
low as they might. Town after town submitted to 
Raimond, but Archas proved a stumblingblock to 
his glory, and resisted the efforts of all the force 
he could bring against it. The Saracen emirs of 
the neighbouring country, however, whether from 
fear of the Christians, or from misunderstandings 
amongst themselves, no longer pursued the firm and 
destructive plan formerly adopted of desolating the 
land before the steps of the invaders. The army of 
the cross found provisions in plenty, and many of 
the towns which it approached bought immunity from 
attack, at the price of large presents to the cru- 
saders. 4 

Soon after the departure of Raimond, Godfrey of 
Bouillon, Robert of Flanders, Boemond, and the other 
leaders, marched out of Antioch, and directed their 
course towards Laodicea, where Boemond 5 again 
quitted them, and returned to his new principality, 

1 Raimond d'Agiles ; Guibert de Nogent. 

2 Raimond d'Agiles. 

3 Raoul of Caen ; Raimond. 4 Guibert. 

5 Guibert, lib. vi. ; Albert of Aix, lib. v. ; William of Tyre. 



156 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



leaving a great part of his troops to aid his brethren. 
As some compensation for this desertion, the host 
of the crusade was joined by a considerable body of 
English who had sailed round Spain ; and, entering 
the Mediterranean by Gibraltar, had touched first at 
St. Simeon, and then proceeded to Laodicea — a won- 
derful undertaking, indeed, as Raimond d'Agiles ob- 
serves, considering the state of the art of naviga- 
tion in that day. From Laodicea, Godfrey, march- 
ing along the coast, turned his arms against Ghibel, 
or Gabala, whither he was accompanied by the ships of 
the band of pirates, whom we have seen serving under 
Baldwin ; and who, having fallen into the hands of 
the Greeks of Laodicea, had been kept in strict im- 
prisonment till the arrival of the crusaders. The Emir 
of Ghibel attempted, by the offer of large bribes, to 
divert the forces of the cross from the attack of his city, 
but his proposals were met with contempt by Godfrey 
and the chiefs who accompanied him ; and the infidel 
commander, in consequence, sent messengers to Rai- 
mond of Toulouse 1 (then besieging Archas), whose dis- 
interestedness was reported to be of a different quality. 
Raimond, always fond of gold, caught at the bait 
held out, and immediately agreed to draw his fellow- 
crusaders from Ghibel by artifice. He lost no time, 
therefore, in sending word to Godfrey, that an im- 
mense body of Saracens was marching down against 
his Provencals under the walls of Archas. This tale of 
course caused Godfrey 2 to raise the siege of Ghibel, and 
hasten to the assistance of his comrade. On his arrival, 
however, Tancred, and the other knights of Raimond's 
army, undeceived the Duke of Loraine, who, indig- 
nant at the treachery of the Count of Toulouse, re- 
nounced all communication 3 with him, and withdrew 
his men to the distance of two miles, resolving to give 
him no aid in the siege of Archas. Tancred, at the 



1 Albert of Aix. 2 Fulcher ; Guibert. 3 Albert of Aix. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



157 



same time, disgusted with the avarice of the count, 
who withheld from him the recompence he had pro- 
mised for his services, retired with the forty 1 lances 
that accompanied him, and joined himself to Godfrey. 
New disputes of every kind arose amongst the leaders, 
and as Raimond of Toulouse affected a sort of spiritual 
superiority, as guardian of the holy lance that had 
been discovered at Antioch, its virtues and authenticity 
were manfully denied. Peter Barthelmy, who had 
found it, had vision after vision, till his commerce 
with heaven drew so heavily on belief, that men, even 
the most superstitious, yielded him no further credit. 
The business was investigated, and Barthelmy brought 
before a sort of council of inquiry, where he maintained 
his position, supported by the Count of Toulouse and 
his chaplain, our worthy chronicler, Raimond d'Agiles, 
who, fully convinced of the truth of the miracle, un- 
happily proposed that his protege should prove his 
virtue by the fiery ordeal. 2 This was agreed to ; fasts 
and prayers succeeded : Peter walked through the 
fire with the lance in his hand, got frightened, stopped 
in the middle, and was burnt to death. 3 Some still 
believed ; and, declaring that their martyr had been 
pressed to death by the crowd, 4 held to their credulity 
the more eagerly, because it was unsupported by any 
thing like reason. 

The fame of the Count of Toulouse suffered as much 
by the affair of the lance, as by his deceit in respect to 
Ghibel ; and the crusaders, wearied with the delay be- 
fore Arenas, determined to raise the siege and proceed 
to Jerusalem. In the mean while, the Emir 5 of Tri- 
poli, 6 finding that the Christians were about to traverse 
his country, sent messengers to the leaders, begging 

1 Raimond d'Agiles ; Albert of Aix. 2 Raimond d'Agiles. 
3 Fulcher ; Raoul of Caen. 4 Guibert ; RaimondA 

5 Albert of Aix ; Guibert ; Robert. Mon. lib. viii. 

6 Mills follows Raimond d'Agiles. I have chosen the account 
of Albert of Aix, because I find it better supported by evidence. 



158 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



them to spare his towns and fields, and offering abundant 
supplies, together with several rich presents. These 
proffers were so favourably received, that the emir 
even visited the camp of Godfrey himself, and con- 
cluded a treaty, which was inviolably adhered to on 
both sides. 

At the same time 1 the deputies who had been despatch- 
ed to the Calif of Egypt returned, with very unfavour- 
able accounts of their entertainment. The Saracen 
monarch still offered to join his arms to those of the 
Christians, for the purpose of subduing Palestine; 
but it was evident that he proposed to enjoy the 
fruits of victory without participation. His envoys, 
and the presents which they bore, were sent back 
with scorn, 2 the crusaders declaring that they would 
conquer Jerusalem with the sword of Christ, and keep 
it with the same. Ambassadors from Alexius were 
received also, under the walls of Arenas ; and by their 
lips the perfidious emperor dared to remonstrate 
against the cession of Antioch to Boemond, who by 
this time had expelled the troops of Raimond of 
Toulouse, 3 and was in full possession of the town. 

The reply given to these messengers was not less 
haughty than that which had been sent to the calif. 4 
The emperor, the crusaders said, had broken his most 
sacred oaths ; he had neglected to succour them when 
succour was needful ; he had betrayed the cause of 
Christ, and violated his covenant with them. They 
could not, therefore, be bound by an engagement 
which he had not found binding on him ; and they 
would neither stay for his coming, as he desired, nor 
would they yield him what they had conquered with 
their own hands. 

These measures of decision having been taken, 
Godfrey and his companions set fire to their camp, 

1 William of Tyre. 2 Raimond d'Agiles. 

3 Fulcher ; Raimond d'Agiles. 4 William of Tyre, lib. vi?. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



159 



and quitted the siege of Arenas : many of the Pro- 
vencals abandoned Raimond, and hastened after the 
rest; and the count himself, 1 though unwillingly, was 
obliged to follow. The noble sincerity and moderation 
of the crusaders, in their conduct to the Emir of Tri- 
poli, has not been dwelt upon sufficiently by those 
authors who have lost no opportunity of pointing out 
their cruelties and excesses. They entered a rich and 
beautiful country, where spoil of every kind lay around 
them. The inhabitants were infidels, and had been 
enemies ; but the host of the crusade passed through 
the whole without the slightest violation of their 
treaty. 2 To prevent even casual injury, they encamped 
at a distance from the towns, waited for the supplies 
that had been promised them, and followed, with con- 
fidence and regularity, the guide who was appointed 
to conduct them through the land. 3 When at war, 
the crusaders waged it with all the barbarity of the age 
— the slaughter of the infidel adversary was a virtue 
praised by historians, and sung by poets, and mercy 
would have been held a weakness : but with those to 
whom they had bound themselves in peace, we seldom 
find that, as a body, they violated the most chivalric 
adherence to their promises. 

In the neighbourhood of Tripoli, the Europeans first 
beheld the sugar-cane, 4 and learned the method of 
preparing the valuable juice which has since been such 
an article of commerce in Europe. 

So great was the reliance between the people of Tripoli 
and the crusaders, that they mutually frequented the 
camp 5 and the city during the stay of the army. The 
emir also delivered from the chains in which they had 
long remained, three hundred Christian pilgrims ; and, 
according to some authorities, promised to embrace the 
faith of his new allies, 6 in case they were ultimately 

1 Robert. Mon. 2 Albert. 3 William of Tyre ; Albert of Aix. 
4 Albert. 5 Robert. ; Guibert. 6 Ibid. 



160 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



successful. At the end of three days, the host of the 
cross was once more in motion; and passing by Sidon, 
Acre, Ramula, and Emmaus, approached the city of 
Jerusalem. 1 At Emmaus, deputies arrived from the 
Christians of Bethlehem, praying for immediate aid 
against their infidel oppressors. Tancred was 2 in 
consequence sent forward with a hundred lances ; but 
the tidings of a deputation from Bethlehem spread 
new and strange sensations through the bosoms of the 
crusaders. That word Bethlehem, repeated through 
the camp, called up so many ideas connected with 
that sweet religion, which, however perverted, was 
still the thrilling faith of every heart around. The 
thoughts of their proximity to the Saviour's 3 birth- 
place, banished sleep from every eyelid ; and, before 
midnight was well passed, the whole host was on foot 
towards Jerusalem. It was a lovely morning, we are 
told, in the summer time ; and after they had wandered 
on for some time in the darkness, the sun rushed into 
the sky with the glorious suddenness of eastern dawn, 
and Jerusalem lay before their eyes. 

The remembrance 4 of all that that mighty city had 
beheld ; the enthusiasm of faith ; the memory of dangers 
and ills, and fatigues, and privations, endured and 
conquered ; the fulfilment of hope ; the gratification of 
long desire ; the end of fear and doubt, combined in 
every bosom to call up the sublime of joy. The name 
was echoed by a thousand tongues — Jerusalem ! 
Jerusalem! Some shouted to the sky; 5 some knelt 
and prayed ; some wept in silence ; and some cast 
themselves down and kissed the blessed earth. " All 
had much ado," says Fuller, with his emphatic plain- 
ness, " to manage so great a gladness." 6 

To rejoicing, at the sight of the Holy City, succeeded 
wrath, at seeing it in the hands of the infidels. The 

1 Albert. 2 Raoul of Caen ; Albert ; Fulcher. 

3 Albert of Aix, lib. v. 4 Guibert. 

5 Guibert, lib. yii, ; Robert. 6 Holy War. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



161 



army marched forward in haste, drove in some parties 
of Saracens, who had vauntingly come forth from the 
gates ; and Jerusalem was invested on all sides. Some 
of the people, indeed, approached barefoot, in deep 
humiliation, and in remembrance 1 of the sufferings of 
Him who had purchased salvation to a world by 
agony and death ; but the greater part of the soldiers 
advanced with purposes of wrath, and took up their 
various warlike positions round about the town. The 
attack was begun almost immediately after the first 
preparations ; and Godfrey of Bouillon, Tancred, the 
Duke of Normandy, and Robert of Flanders, by a 
vigorous effort, carried the barbicans, and reached the 
wall. 2 A portion of this, also, was thrown down with 
axes and picks ; and several knights mounted by 
ladders 3 to the top of the battlements, under a hail of 
arrows and Greek fire, fought for some time hand to 
hand with the Turks. 

At length, after many had fallen on both sides, it 
became evident to the leaders that nothing could be 
effected without the usual machines, and the assault 
was suspended. 

All the energies of the host were now employed 
in constructing implements of war. Timber was pro- 
cured from Sichon : 4 some Genoese seamen having 
arrived at Jaffa, were pressed by the crusaders into 
the service of the cross, and by their mechanical 
skill greatly facilitated the construction of the engines 
required. 

Catapults, mangonels, 5 and large moveable towers, 
were prepared, as in the siege of Nice ; and to these 
was added a machine called the sow, formed of wood, 
and covered with raw hides to protect it from fire, 
under cover of which soldiers were employed in un- 

1 Raimond. 2 Robert ; Albert ; Guibert, lib. vii. 

3 Fulcher mentions several ladders, but says they were too 
few. 

* Albert of Aix ; Guibert. s Raimondj Albert. 

M 



162 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



dermining the walls. 1 During the fabrication of these 
implements, a dreadful drought pervaded the army ; 
and all the wells in the circumjacent country having 
been filled up by the Turks, the only water that reached 
the camp was brought from far, and paid for as if each 
drop had been gold. The soldiers, unable to procure 
it, wandered away in the search, or watched 2 the morn- 
ing dew, and licked the very stones for moisture. Vice 
and immorality again grew prevalent, and superstition 
was obliged to be called, in aid of virtue. 

From forty to sixty thousand men were all that re- 
mained of multitudes ; and it became obvious to the 
leaders that dissensions could no longer exist without 
hazarding their destruction. Tancred, 3 the first in every 
noble act, set the example of conciliation, and embraced 
his foe Raimond of Toulouse, in the sight of the whole 
army. An expiatory 4 procession was made by the chiefs, 
the soldiers, and the clergy, round the city of Jerusalem ; 
and prayers were offered up on each holy place in the 
neighbourhood for success in this last field. The Turks, 
on their part, forgetting the desperate valour which the 
crusaders had displayed on every occasion, beheld 
these ceremonies with contempt ; and raising up the 
image of the cross upon the walls, mocked the pro- 
cession of the Christians, and threw dirt at the symbol of 
their faith. The wrath of the crusaders was raised to 
the uttermost, and the sacrilegious insult 5 was remem- 
bered to be atoned in blood. 

The engines were at last completed, and the attack 
once more begun. The towers 6 were rolled on to 
the walls, the battering-rams were plied incessantly, 
the sow was pushed on to the foundations; and 
while the Saracens poured forth fire 7 and arrows upon 

1 Albert of Aix. 2 Guibert ; Albert. 3 Albert of Aix. 
4 Raimond d'Agiles ; Guibert. § Albert of Aix. 

6 Raimond d'Agiles ; Albert of Aix. 

7 Albert describes perfectly the effect of the Greek fire, and 
says it ^could only be extinguished by the means of vinegar, 



HISTOPvY OF CHIVALRY. 



163 



the besiegers, the crusaders waged the warfare with 
equal courage from their machines. Thus passed the 
whole day in one of the most tremendous fights that 
the host of the cross had ever sustained. Night fell, 
and the city was not taken. The walls of the town 
were much injured, as well as the engines used by the 
assailants ; but by the next morning both had been re- 
paired, and the assault recommenced, and was received 
with equal ardour. 1 The leaders of the Christian army 
occupied the higher stages of their moveable towers,, 
and Godfrey of Bouillon himself, 2 armed with a bow, 
was seen directing his shafts against all who appeared 
upon the walls. Such soldiers as the machines could 
not contain were ranged opposite the walls, urging 
the battering-rams, plying the mangonels, and, by 
flights of arrows, covering the attack from the towers. 
The enthusiasm was great and general ; the old, the 
sick, and the feeble, lent what weak aid they could, 
in bringing forward the missiles and other implements 
of war, while the women encouraged the warriors 
to daring, both by words and their example; and 
hurried through the ranks bearing water to assuage 
the thirst of toil and excitement. Still the Saracens 
resisted with desperate valour. For their homes and 
for their hearths they fought ; and so courageously, 
that when more than half the day was spent, the host 
of the crusade was still repulsed in all quarters. At 
that moment a soldier was suddenly seen on Mount 
Olivet, waving on the crusaders to follow. 3 How he 
had penetrated does not appear, or whether he was not 
the mere creature of fancy. The idea, at all events, 
instantly raised the fainting hopes of the Christians. 
Immense and almost supernatural efforts were made 
in every quarter ; the tower of Godfrey of Bouillon 

which, on the second day, the crusaders provided in great quan- 
tities. 

1 Raimond. 2 Guibert ; Albert of Aix. 

3 Raimond d'Agiles ; William of Tyre. 

M 2 



164 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



was rolled up till it touched the wall ; the moveable 
bridge was let down, and a knight called Lutold 1 
sprang upon the battlements — his brother followed — 
another and another came to his support. — Godfrey, 
Baldwin de Bourg, and Eustace de Bouillon, rushed 
in; and the banner of the cross announced to the 
anxious eyes of the army that Christians stood upon 
the battlements of Jerusalem. 2 Tancred and Robert 
of Normandy burst open one of the gates, while Rai- 
mond of Toulouse, almost at the same instant, 3 forced 
his way into another part of the city by escalade. The 
Turks fought 4 for a time in the streets, but then fled 
to the mosques, and were in every direction massacred 
by thousands. It is dreadful to read of the blood 
which on that awful day washed the pavements of Jeru- 
salem. The courts of the mosque of Omar floated in 
gore, and scarcely the most remote and obscure corners 
of the city gave shelter to an infidel head. The sol- 
diers 5 remembered the impious mockeries with which 
the Turks had insulted the cross, and the leaders be- 
lieved that they were doing God good service in exter- 
minating the blasphemous strangers who had polluted 
the holy places of Jerusalem, persecuted and butchered 
the unhappy Christians of Judea, and desecrated the 
altars of God. To have spared them or their accursed 
race would have been considered impious : and God- 
frey himself, not only encouraged the slaughter, but 
aided with his own hand. 

An immense number of Saracens had betaken them- 
selves to the temple of Soliman, as it was called, 6 and 
there had prepared to defend themselves to the last ; 
but the pursuers were too strong to be resisted, and 
nearly ten thousand men are said to have fallen in 
that building. Those even who had climbed to the 

1 Robert ; Guibert, lib. vii. ; Albert. 

2 15th July, a, d. 1099. 3 Guibert; Raimond, 
4 Albert ; Robert. 5 Ibid. ; Guibert. 

6 Guibert j Raimond d'Agiles ; Robert. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



165 



roof were sought out the next day, 1 and several, to 
avoid the sword, cast themselves down and were 
dashed to pieces. 

Some authors mention a second massacre, 2 and 
greatly exaggerate the butchery that was perpetrated. 
In regard to this second massacre, there is much his- 
torical evidence to show that no such event took place; 
and I would fain believe that it was not the case. It 
cannot, however, be denied, that the most humane of 
the Christian leaders in that age, were taught to look 
upon all mercy to the infidels as an injury to reli- 
gion ; and it is beyond doubt, that after the general 
slaughter committed on the capture of Jerusalem, 
Godfrey de Bouillon, 3 with the other leaders and 
soldiers, washed away the marks of gore, cast off their 

1 Tancred, and Gaston of Bearn, had promised quarter to 
these unhappy wretches, and had given them a banner as a cer- 
tain protection. It was early the next morning before those chiefs 
were awake that this massacre was committed by some of the 
more bloodthirsty of the crusaders. Tancred was with great 
difficulty prevented from taking signal vengeance on the perpe- 
trators of this crime. — Guibert ; Albert. 

2 The story of the second massacre rests upon the authority 
of Albert of Aix, from whose writings it has been copied by all 
who have repeated it. Albert of Aix never visited the Holy 
Land. None of those who were present at the fall of Jerusalem 
(that I can discover) make the slightest mention of such an oc- 
currence ; and we have the strongest proof that part of Al- 
bert's story is false ; for he declares that all the Saracens were 
slaughtered in this second massacre, even those who had pre- 
viously been promised protection ; and we know that many 
were sent to Ascalon.— See Guibert, lib. vii. Robert, who was 
present, speaks of many who were spared. — Robertus, lib. ix. 
Fulcher, who was in the country, if not present, does not allude 
to a second massacre. Raimond d'Agiles, who was a witness 
to the whole, passes it over in silence ; though each of these 
persons always speaks of the slaughter of the Saracens as the 
most praiseworthy of actions. The Archbishop of Tyre, also, who 
copied Albert wherever he could be proved correct, has stamped 
doubt upon this anecdote by omitting it entirely. I have thought 
fit to notice this particularly, because Mills lays no sma'l stress 
upon the tale. 

3 Guibert 5 Albert 5 William of Tyre. 



166 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



armour, assumed the robe of penitents, and, going 
to the holy sepulchre, offered up their prayers to the 
mild Teacher of our beautiful religion, convinced that 
they had accomplished a great and glorious work, and 
consummated an acceptable sacrifice in the blood of 
the infidels. 

Such was the doctrine which, in that day, men were 
taught from their cradles : such the strange interpre- 
tation put upon the Gospel of Peace. 1 

1 The words in which Guibert speaks of the slaughter of the 
Saracens, convey a better idea of the feelings under which the 
crusaders acted, than any thing a modern writer can adduce. 
They are as follows : 

*.* We rarely meet in history, and have never or.rselves seen 
so great a massacre of the Gentiles. God himself, retaliating 
upon them, thus struck in return those who had so long in- 
flicted every sort of misery and pain upon those poor pilgrims 
who were travelling for his love alone. No one under heaven, 
in fact, can comprehend all the evils, the tribulations, and the 
dreadful tortures, to which these savage gentiles subjected those 
who went to visit the holy places ; and there cannot be any 
doubt that God was much more afflicted thereat than even at 
the captivity of his cross and sepulchre in the hands of the pro- 
fane." 

Whoever reads this, and marks the doctrine that was believed 
and taught in that day, as well as the many pleas for revenge 
which the conduct of the Saracens had afforded, will not wonder 
at the deeds of the crusaders, though he may lament that such a 
perverted creed was instilled into men, many of whom were 
great, noble, and generous, in their own nature. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



167 



CHAPTER IX. 



ELECTION OF A KING— GODFREY OF BOUILLON— SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF 
JERUSALEM— DEATH OF THE CHIEF CRUSADERS — NEW BODIES OF CRUSAD- 
ERS SET OU1 FROM EUROPE— THEIR DESTRUCTION IN ASIA MINOR— ARMED 
PILGRIMAGES— THE NORTHERN ARMAMENTS— THE VENETIANS— THE GE- 
NOESE AND PISANS— ANECDOTES OF THE CRUSADERS— BATTLE OF THE 
CHILDREN AT ANTIOCH — THE THAFURS — BALDWIN'S HUMANITY WELL 
REPAID— SUPERSTITIONS— ARMS OF THE CRUSADERS— OF THE TURKS — 
HOSPITALLERS— TEMPLARS. 

The great end of the crusade was now accom- 
plished. Jerusalem was delivered from the hands of 
the infidels ; but much remained to be done. To 
conquer the Holy City had been a work of prodigious 
difficulty ; to keep it was perhaps more so ; and it 
became evident that its defence must be intrusted to 
one powerful chief. For this purpose the several 
leaders, who had formed the general council of the 
crusade, met to elect a King of Jerusalem. The 
nomination to that high office was so extraordinary an 
honour, that the writers of each nation, whose forces 
contributed to the crusade, have declared their own 
particular prince to have been chosen and, as it 
was known that none of these did actually reign, 
they have furnished each with a suitable excuse for 
declining the distinguished task. It is probable, 
however, that the choice of the assembly really fixed 

1 See Raimond d'Agiles ; Guibert ; Albert ; Bromptom ; 
William of Malmsbury. 



168 



HISTORY OP CHIVALRY* 



at once tipon the only person fitted for the office ; 
and (to combine the words of Fulcher and Robert the 
Monk) that, " considering the excellence of his no- 
bility, 1 his valour as a knight, his gentleness and 
patient modesty, as well as the purity of his morals, 
Godfrey of Bouillon was elected king by the whole 
people composing the army of God, with the unani- 
mous wish, the general consent, and the judgment of 
all." Various clerical cabals followed for the dignity 
of patriarch, of which it is not necessary to speak here, 

Scarcely was the new monarch 2 seated on his throne, 
when the gathering forces of the Moslems called him 
again into the field. With the wise policy of activity, 
Godfrey did not wait to be besieged in Jerusalem, but 
marching out with all the troops he could muster, he 
advanced towards Ascalon, where a large infidel army 
had assembled, attacked and routed it completely, 
and thus secured the conquest he had gained. 3 But 
the virtues of Godfrey were not long destined to bless, 
or his talents to protect, the new kingdom of Jerusa- 
lem. 4 In the month of July, 1100, he was seized 
with a severe illness, on his return from a distant 
expedition, and in a few days the throne of the Holy 
Land was vacant. 

Such an unexpected event of course spread dissen- 
sion and consternation amongst the crusaders. Tan- 
cred, who was at Jerusalem, and from his great mili- 
tary name enjoyed no small power, offered the crown 
to Boemond, and beyond all doubt would have suc- 
ceeded in causing his election, had Boemond been able 
to accept immediately the sceptre thus held out to 
him. 5 But the Prince of Antioch 6 was at the moment a 

1 Fulcher, cap. 18; Robert. Mon. lib. ix. 

2 Godfrey appears never to have taken the title of king, 
from a feeling of religious humility. 

3 Robert. 4 Albert ; Will. Tyr. 5 Albert. 

6 He was taken, after having suffered a complete defeat from 
the emir Damisman, as he was hastening to the succour of 
Gabriel of Armenia, 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



169 



prisoner in the hands of some Armenian Turks. 1 The 
Patriarch, on his part, endeavoured to raise Jerusalem 
into a simple hierarchy, 2 and to unite the crown with 
the mitre. The partisans of the Count of Toulouse also 
struggled in his behalf for the supreme power ; but in 
the end, Baldwin, Prince of Edessa, the brother of God- 
frey, was elected, and after some intriguing on the part 
of the Patriarch, was anointed King of Jerusalem. 

It does not enter into the plan of this book to give 
a history of Jerusalem under its Latin kings : I shall, 
however, briefly notice each, that the occasion and 
object of the after-crusades may be properly under- 
stood. 

Baldwin, on his election, 3 displayed virtues that 
had slumbered, and lost vices that had been displayed 
on other occasions. He extended the boundaries of 
his kingdom, humbled its Saracen enemies, instituted 
wise and salutary laws, and showed firmness, modera- 
tion, and activity in his new station, as well as the 
great military skill and enterprising spirit he had for- 
merly evinced. He tookAssur, 4 Cesarea, and Acre; and 
added Beritus, Sidon, and several other places, to the 
kingdom of Jerusalem. At length, in the execution of 
a bold expedition into Egypt, Baldwin died, and his 
body, after being embalmed, by his own particular 
direction, was carried back to the Holy City. 

Baldwin de Bourg, who, on the elevation of Bald- 
win L to the throne of Jerusalem, had received the 

1 Will. Tyren. ; Radulph. ; Cadom. 

2 Arnould, one of the most corrupt priests in the army, had 
been elected patriarch, but was deposed almost immediately ; 
and Daimbert, who arrived from Rome as legate, was chosen in 
his stead. This Daimbert it is of whom I speak above. He 
seems to have conceived, from the first, the idea of making 
Jerusalem an eastern Rome, and wrung many concessions from 
Godfrey, which were little respected by that chiefs successors. 

* William of Tvre. 

4 Hist. Hieros."; Jacob, lib. i. ; Will, of Tyrej Fulcher; 
Albert. 



170 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



principality of Edessa, was now called to the vacant 
throne, and proved himself one of the wisest and most 
valiant of the Latin sovereigns of Judea. He also 
greatly extended the limits of his dominions ; but in 
passing between Turbessel and Edessa, accompanied 
by a few soldiers only, 1 and unsuspicious of any 
ambuscade, he was suddenly surrounded, and carried 
a prisoner to Khortopret, where he remained in close 
confinement for several years. During his imprison- 
ment Tyre was added to the territories of Jerusalem, 2 
and various successful battles were fought against the 
Moslems. After his liberation, he offered the hand of 
his daughter to Foulk of Anjou, who had some time 
before visited Jerusalem upon an armed pilgrimage. 
The Count of Anjou gladly accepted the proposal, and 
returning to the Holy Land, espoused Melesinda, soon 
after which he ascended the throne of Jerusalem, on 
the death of Baldwin. Foulk combined many virtues ; 3 
was kind, affable, and humane, as well as skilful and 
courageous in the field. After a reign of thirteen years 
he left the kingdom to his son, entire, indeed, but 
neither more extended in territory, nor more con- 
solidated in power, than when he received it. 

Baldwin III. succeeded ; at the time of his ac- 
cession being but a boy. Dissensions and animo- 
sities raged amongst all the feudal dependants of 
the crown of Jerusalem. 4 The Moslems scattered 
through the country, and girding it in on every side, 
took advantage of each new dispute to harass their 
Latin invaders with desultory warfare. The emperors 
of the east strove continually to wrest something of 
their old possessions from the descendants of the cru- 
saders, and thus divided the forces, and paralyzed all 
the efforts made by the Christians to establish and 

1 William of Tyre ; Fulcher of Chartres. 

2 Fulcher. 3 William of Tyre. 

4 Hist. Hieros. ; Jacob. Vit. ; William of Tyre. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



171 



secure their yet infirm dominion. At length Zenghi, 
Emir of Aleppo, and Mosul, marched against Edessa, 
the government of which principality had been trans- 
ferred, on the accession of Baldwin de Bourg to the 
throne of Jerusalem, to Joscelyn de Courtenay, and 
from him had descended to his son. The son had not 
inherited the virtues or the valour of his father ; and 
while Zenghi attacked, stormed, and took Edessa, he 
was rioting in debaucheries at Turbessel. So severe 
a reverse spread consternation through Palestine. 
Others, though of a less important nature, followed ; 
and the news of these misfortunes soon reached 
Europe, where it gave matter to the eloquence of 
St. Bernard, and occasion for a new crusade. 

Long before this period all the chiefs, who had at 
first led the armies of the cross to Jerusalem, had 
tasted of the cup reserved for all men, and few words 
will end the history of each. Godfrey, Baldwin, and 
Baldwin de Bourg, we have already conducted to the 
tomb. Boemond, 1 as I have said, fell into the hands 
of the Moslems ; and after a captivity of two years, 
was permitted to pav a ransom, and return to his prin- 
cipality. On arriving, he found that his noble rela- 
tive, Tancred, 2 had not only preserved, but increased 
his territories during his absence ; and after several 
years continual warfare with Alexius on the one hand, 
and the Moslems on the other, mingled with opposition 
to the King of Jerusalem, Boemond sailed for Europe. 
There, the fame he had acquired, obtained for him the 
hand of Constantia, 3 daughter of the King of France. 
Her younger sister, Cecilia, was bestowed upon Tan- 
cred, who had remained in the government of Antioch. 

By the aid of France, Boemond raised large forces, 
and landing in Greece, ravaged the dominions of 
Alexius, who was at length fain to conclude a peace 

1 Fulcher ; Albert. 2 Raoul of Caen j Will. Tyr. ; Fulcher, 
8 Guibert, lib. vii. 



172 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



with the powerful and enterprising Italian. The Prince 
of Antioch then sent forward the greater part of his 
troops to the Holy Land, while he himself returned to 
Italy to prepare for the same journey. Death, however, 
staid his progress; 1 for, after a short illness, he ended his 
career in Apulia, in 1 109. 2 Tancred still survived, and 
defended constantly the territories of his cousin against 
every attack for three years after the decease of 
Boemond. At last the consequences of a wound he 
had received some time before proved fatal, and the 
noblest and most chivalrous of all the Christian 
warriors died in the prime of his days On his 
deathbed he called to him his wife, and Pontius, 
the son of the Prince of Tripoli, 3 and, aware of the 
necessity of union amongst the Christians, he recom- 
mended strongly their marriage, after death should 
have dissolved the ties between himself and Cecilia. 
The government of Antioch he bequeathed to his 
cousin Roger; 4 but, with the same noble integrity 
which he had displayed through life, he made the new 
regent promise that, in case the son of Boemond should 
ever come to claim those territories, they should be 
resigned to him without dispute. Thus died Tancred ; 
who, from all that we read of the crusaders, was, with 
the exception of Godfrey, the noblest of the followers 
of the cross — a gallant leader, a disinterested man, a 
generous friend, a true knight. 

Previous to his death, however, he had been en- 
gaged in all the great events in Palestine. After the 

1 Will, of Tyr. ; Guibert. 

2 Guibert says that Boemond died from the effects of poison. 
Other authors declare that grief for having been obliged to enter 
into a less advantageous treaty with Alexius than he had antici- 
pated, occasioned his death ; but, from his whole history, I 
should not look upon Boemond as a man likely to die of grief. 

3 He was the grandson of that Raimond, Count of Toulouse, of 
whose conduct I have so often had occasion to speak already, and 
whose perseverance against Tripoli will be mentioned hereafter. 

* Will. Tyr. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



173 



election of Godfrey, and the battle of Ascalon, the 
other chiefs of the crusade had either returned to 
Europe, or spread themselves over the country, in 
pursuit of their own schemes of private ambition, 
leaving the new kingdom of Jerusalem to be supported 
by its king and Tancred, with an army of less than 
three thousand men. This penury of forces, however, 
did not long continue, or the Holy Land must soon 
have resumed the yoke it had thrown off. The spirit 
of pilgrimage was still active in Europe; and com- 
bined with this spirit was the hope of gain, springing 
from vague and exaggerated accounts of the wealth 
and the principalities which the leaders of the first 
expedition had acquired. 

Pilgrimages now differed from those that had pre- 
ceded the conquest of Jerusalem, in being armed ; 
and many bodies, of several thousand men each, arrived 
both by sea and land, and proved exceedingly service- 
able in peopling the devastated lands of Palestine. 
Various larger enterprises, more deserving the name 
of crusades, were planned and attempted, which 
it would be endless to name, and tedious to recount. 
Nearly five hundred thousand people set out from 
Europe for Syria, 1 and to these several of those cru- 
saders who had gone back to Europe joined them- 
selves, urged either by shame for their former desertion, 
or by the hope of obtaining easier conquests, and less 
dangerous honours. Of these, then, I will speak first, 
before noticing more particularly the armed pilgrim- 
ages, in order that I may trace to the end, all those 
leaders of the first crusade, who died in the Holy Land. 
The first great expedition set out not many years after 
the taking of Jerusalem, and consisted of several smaller 
ones from various countries, which united into larger 
bodies as they proceeded, and endeavoured to force 
their way through Asia Minor. At the head of these 

1 Fulcher ; Albert of Aix ; William of Tyre. 



174 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



armies were Count Albert 1 of Lombardy; Conrad, 
Constable of the Western Empire ; Stephen, Count of 
Blois, whom we have seen flying from the land to which 
shame now drove him back ; Stephen, Duke of Bur- 
gundy; the Bishops of Laon and of Milan; the Duke of 
Parma ; Hugh, Count of Vermandois,* who now a°;ain 
turned towards Jerusalem, and the Count of Nevers ; 
as well as William, Count of Poitiers; Guelf, Duke 
of Bavaria, and Ida, Marchioness of Austria. At 
Constantinople the first division met with Raimond 
of Toulouse, 3 who had returned to that city from the 
Holy Land, in search of aid to pursue the schemes of 
a grasping and ambitious spirit. The new crusaders 
put themselves, in some degree, under his command 
and guidance ; but their first step was to disobey his 
orders, and to take the w T ay of Paphlagonia, instead of 
following the track of the former crusade. They were 
for many days harassed in their march by the Turks, 
then exposed to famine and drought, and finally 
attacked and cut to pieces by Kilidge Asian, who 
revenged, by the death of more than a hundred thou- 
sand Christians, 4 all the losses they had caused him 
to undergo. The principal leaders made good their 
escape, first to Constantinople, and then to Antioch ; 
except Hugh of Vermandois, who died of his wound 
at Tarsus. The Count of Nevers, 5 who commanded the 
second body, met the same fate as the rest, and follow- 
ed them to Antioch, after the destruction of his whole 
force. William of Poitiers, with the Duke of Bavaria 
and the Marchioness Ida, were also encountered by the 
victorious Saracens, and their defeat added another to 
the triumphs of the infidels and to the Christian dis- 
asters. The Duke of Bavaria, stripping himself of his 
arms, fled to the mountains, and made his escape. 
The precise fate of Ida of Austria remained unknown ; 

1 Albert of Aix; William of Tyre. 2 Fulcher. 

3 Albert of Aix. 4 Fulcher ; Albert. 5 Albert, 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



175 



but it appears certain she was either suffered to die in 
captivity, or was crushed to death under the horses' 
feet. 1 The Count of Poitiers, completely destitute of 
all resources, and separated from his companions, wan- 
dered on foot till he arrived at Antioch, 2 where he was 
kindly received by Tancred, still alive, and met the 
other chiefs who had encountered disasters like his 
own. 3 The principal leaders proceeded straight to Je- 
rusalem, with the exception of Raimond of Toulouse, 
who had long fixed his heart upon the conquest of the 
rich tract of Tripoli, which he attempted for some time 
in vain. Death staid him in his progress, 4 and Baldwin 
succeeded in accomplishing what he had designed ; 
after which the king erected the territory acquired 
into a feudal county, which was bestowed upon the 
son of the deceased Raimond. 

In the mean while Stephen, Count of Blois, reached 
Jerusalem ; and having, by a second completed pil- 
grimage, wiped out, as he thought, the disgrace of 
having quitted the first crusade, he embarked, with 
William of Poitiers, to return to Europe. A contrary 
wind, however, drove back the vessel into Jaffa, 5 and 
here Stephen found himself called upon to join Bald- 
win in an attack upon the Turks. The king advanced 
with only seven hundred knights, 6 deceived by reports 
of the enemy's weakness ; but in the plains of Ramula 
he found himself suddenly opposed to the whole 
Turkish army. The spirit of Chivalry forbade his 
avoiding the encounter, and in a short time the 
greater part of his force was cut to pieces. He 
himself, with his principal knights, made their way 
to the castle of Ramula, from which he contrived to 
escape alone. The rest were taken, fighting bravely 
for their lives ; and though some were spared, Stephen 



1 Albert of Aix. 2 Fulcher. 3 Albert. 

4 Fulcher, cap. 35, a.d. 1105. 5 Ibid., cap. 27. 

6 Albert, lib. ix. ; Fulcher. 



176 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



of Blois 1 was one of several who were only reserved 
for slaughter. Thus died the leaders of the first 
crusade who met their fate in Palestine, and thus 
ended the greater and more general expeditions which 
had been sanctioned by the council of Clermont, and 
excited by the preaching of Peter the Hermit. The 
ultimate fate of that extraordinary individual himself 
remains in darkness. On the capture of Jerusalem, 
when the triumphant Europeans spread themselves 
through the city, the Christian inhabitants flocked 
forth to acknowledge and gratulate their deliverers. 2 
Then it was that all the toils and dangers which the 
Hermit had endured, were a thousand fold repaid, 
and that all his enthusiasm met with its reward. The 
Christians of Jerusalem instantly recognised the poor 
pilgrim who had first spoken to them words of hope, 
and had promised them, in their misery under the 
Turkish oppression, that aid and deliverance which 
had at length so gloriously reached them. 3 In the 
fervour of their gratitude they attributed all to him ; 
and, casting themselves at his feet, called the blessing 
of Heaven on the head of their benefactor. After that 
period Peter is mentioned several times by the his- 
torians of Jerusalem ; 4 and we find that he certainly 
did act a very principal part in the clerical govern- 
ment of the city. 5 Whether he returned to Europe or 
not I confess I do not know. He is said to have 
founded the abbey of Montier, in France, and to have 
died there ; but this rests upon no authority worthy 
of confidence. 

1 Albert; Fulcher. 2 James of Vitry ; Hist. Hieros. ab. 

3 Hist. Hieros. abrev. 

4 Mills says that the last historical mention of Peter is that 
which relates to his recognition by the Christians of Jerusalem ; 
but such is not the case. We find him mentioned as a very in- 
fluential person on the occasion of the battle of Ascalon. — See 
Raimond d' Affiles ; Guibert, lib. vii. 

5 Guibert, lib, vii. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



177 



In the mean while many of the Christians who had 
escaped the active swords of the Saracens in Asia 
Minor, made their way to Jerusalem, and served to 
people and protect the land. Various armaments, 
also, arrived at the different seaports, bearing each 
of them immense numbers of military pilgrims, who, 
after having visited the holy places, never failed to 
offer their services to the King of Jerusalem, for the 
purpose of executing any single object that might be 
desirable at the time. 

Three only of these bodies are worthy of particular 
notice, that of the English, Danes, 1 and Flemings, 
who assisted Baldwin at the unsuccessful siege of 
Sidon — the Norwegian expedition which succeeded in 
taking that city — and that of the Venetians, who after- 
wards aided in the capture of Tyre. The Genoese 2 
and the Pisans, also, from time to time sent out vessels 
to the coast of Palestine ; but these voyages, which 
combined in a strange manner the purposes of traffic, 
superstition, and warfare, tended rather to the general 
prosperity of the country by commerce, and to its pro- 
tection, by bringing continual recruits, than to any 
individual enterprise or conquest. 

Many anecdotes are told of the first crusaders by 
their contemporary historians, which — though resting 
on evidence, so far doubtful as to forbid their in- 
troduction as absolute facts — I shall mention in exem- 
plification of the manners and customs of the time. 

The number of women and children who followed 
the first crusaders to the Holy Land, is known to have 
been immense ; but it is not a little extraordinary, 
that in spite of all the hardships and dangers of the 
way, a great multitude of both arrived safe at Jerusa- 
lem. The women we find, on almost all occasions, 
exercising the most heroic firmness in the midst of 

1 Albert of Aix, lib. x. ; William of Tyre. 

2 Fulcher ; William of Tyre. 



178 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



battles and destruction ; and Guibert gives a curious 
account of the military spirit which seized upon the 
children during the siege of Antioch. The boys of 
the Saracens and the young crusaders, armed with 
sticks for lances, and stones instead of arrows, would 
issue from the town and the camp, and under leaders 
chosen from amongst themselves, 1 who assumed the 
names of the principal chiefs, would advance in regu- 
lar squadrons, and fight in the sight of the two hosts, 
with a degree of rancour which showed to what a 
pitch, the mutual hatred of the nations, was carried. 
Even after the crusaders had fallen in battle or had 
died of the pestilence, their children still pursued their 
way, and getting speedily accustomed to fatigue and 
privation, evinced powers of endurance equal to those 
of the most hardy warriors. 

With the army of the cross also was a multitude of 
men — the same author declares — who made it a profes- 
sion to be without money ; they walked barefoot, 
carried no arms, and even preceded the beasts of bur- 
den in the march, living upon roots and herbs, and 
presenting a spectacle both disgusting and pitiable. 
A Norman 2 who, according to all accounts, was of noble 
birth, but who, having lost his horse, continued to 
follow as a foot-soldier, took the strange resolution of 
putting himself at the head of this race of vagabonds, 
who willingly received him for their king. Amongst the 
Saracens these men became well known, under the 
name of Thafurs (which Guibert translates Trude?ites), 
and were held in great horror from the general persua- 
sion that they fed on the dead bodies of their enemies : 
a report which was occasionally justified, and which 
the king of the Thafurs took care to encourage. This 
respectable monarch was frequently in the habit of 
stopping his followers one by one, in any narrow defile, 
and of causing them to be searched carefully, lest the 



1 Guibert, lib. vii. 



2 Ibid. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



179 



possession of the least sum of money should render 
them unworthy of the name of his subjects. 1 If even 
two sous were found upon any one, he was instantly 
expelled from the society of his tribe, the king bid- 
ding him contemptuously, buy arms and fight. 

This troop, so far from being cumbersome to the 
army, was infinitely serviceable, carrying burdens, 
bringing in forage, provisions, and tribute, working 
the machines in the sieges, and above all, spreading 
consternation amongst the Turks, who feared death 
from the lances of the knights less than that further 
consummation, they heard of, under the teeth of the 
Thafurs. 

Mercy towards the Turks was considered, by the 
contemporary clergy, to whom we owe all accounts of 
the crusades, as so great a weakness, that perhaps 
fewer instances of it are on record, than really took 
place ; for we seldom find any mention of clemency to 
an infidel, without blame being attached to it. Thus 
the promise of Tancred to save the Turks on the roof 
of the temple is highly censured, as well as the act of 
the Count of Toulouse, in granting their lives to some 
five hundred wretches, who had taken refuge in the 
Tower of David. 

One deed of this kind is told of Baldwin I., more, 
as in its consequences it saved the king's person, 
than as any thing praiseworthy in itself. Passing 
along one day on horseback, after his troops had been 
employed in wasting the country, Baldwin is- said to 
have met with an Arabian woman, who had been taken 
in labour by the way. 2 He covered her with his own 
cloak, ordered her to be protected by his attendants, 
and having left her with two skins of water, and two 
female camels, he pursued his march. The chances 
of the desultory warfare of those times soon brought 
back her husband to the spot, and his gratitude was 



1 Guibert. 3 William of Tyre, 
N 2 



180 



HISTORY OP CHIVALRY. 



the more ardent as the benefit he had received was un- 
usual and unexpected. After the fatal day of Ramula, 
while Baldwin, with but fifty companions, besieged in 
the ill-fortified castle of that place, was dreaming of 
nothing, but how to sell his life dearly, a single Arab 
approached the gates in the dead of the night and 
demanded to speak with the king. He was in conse- 
quence brought to Baldwin's presence, 1 where he 
recalled to his mind the kindness once shown to 
the Arab woman, his wife ; and then offered to lead 
him safely through the lines of the enemy. The 
fate of Palestine at that moment hung upon Baldwin's 
life, and trusting himself in the hands of the Arab he 
was faithfully conducted to his own camp, 2 where he ap- 
peared, says William of Tyre, like the morning star 
breaking through the clouds. 

Superstition, which in that age was at its height in 
Europe, was, of course, not unknown in Palestine, and 
all sorts of visions were seen. Battles, according to 
the monkish accounts, were won by relics and prayers 
more than by swords and lances. A part of the holy 
cross was said to be found in Jerusalem, a thousand 
more martyrs were dug up than ever were buried, and 
we find one of the bishops, f evens in pyxide lac sanctce 
Marice Virginis. Ghosts 3 of saints too, were seen on 
every occasion, and the devil himself, in more than 
one instance, appeared to the crusaders, tempting them 
with consummate art to all kinds of crimes. The evil 
spirit, however, often — indeed generally — found him- 
self cheated by his victims in the end, who by repent- 
ance, gifts to the church, and fanatical observances, 
easily found means to " swear the seal from off their 
bond." 

1 Albert of Aix and Fulcher give a different account of Bald- 
win's escape. 

2 Will. Tyr. lib. x. 

3 Albert $ Raimond d'Agiles ; Fulcher ; William of Tyre 5 
Guibertj 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



181 



The appearance of an army in the times of the first 
crusade was highly gorgeous and magnificent. 1 The num- 
ber of banners of purple and gold, and rich colours — 
each feudal baron having the right to bear his banner 
to the field — rendered the Christian host in full array 
as bright a spectacle as the sun could shine upon. The 
armour of the knights also gave a glittering and splen- 
did effect to the scene ; nor was this armour, as has 
been represented, entirely of that kind called chain 
mail, which formed the original hauberk. It varied 
according to various nations, and it is evident from the 
continual mention of the corslet or breastplate, by all 
the authors I have had occasion to cite in this work, 
that that piece of plate armour was used during the 
first crusade. 2 It is probable, however, that the armour 
generally worn was principally linked mail, which in 
the case of the knights enveloped the whole body, being 
composed of a shirt of rings, with hose, shoes, and 
gauntlets, of the same materials. The helmet might 
also be covered with a chain hood, which completed 
the dress. In addition to this, it is not unlikely that a 
cuirass was frequently worn with the shirt, as we find, 
from the poem of William the Breton on Philip Augus- 
tus, that it was even then a common practice, to wear 
a double plastron or cuirass, though plate armour had re- 
turned into common use. The shield charged with some 
design, but certainly not with regular armorial bearings, 
together with the lance, sword, and mace, completed 
the arms offensive and defensive of a knight of that 
day. 3 I cannot find that either the battle-axe or the 

1 Albert of Aix ; Raimond d'Agiles ; Guibert. 

2 Mills is wrong in supposing that plate armour was not at all 
known before the beginning of the thirteenth century. As far 
back as the time of Louis the Debonair, the Monk of St. Gall 
gives a full description of a man in plate armour, and also men- 
tions the barb, or iron covering of the horse. 

3 See for these particulars, the Monk of St. Gall; Albert of 
Aix ; Raimond d'Agiles ; Fulcher ; Guibert j William of Brit- 
tany j Menestrier 3 St. Palaye 5 Ducange. 



182 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



armour for the horse is mentioned during the cru- 
sade ; yet we know that both had been made use of 
long before. The foot-soldiers were in some cases 
allowed to wear a shirt of mail, but not a complete 
hauberk, and were armed with pikes, bows, and cross- 
bows ; though it would seem that they gained their 
knowledge of the latter instrument from the Saracens, 
there being several lamentations, in all the accounts of 
their first entrance into Asia Minor, over their unskilful- 
ness in the use of the arbalist. The luxury with which the 
Christians marched to the crusade may be conceived 
from the narrative given by Albert of Aix, of the rout 
of the troops of Conrad and his companions, who 
followed to the Holy Land immediately after the cap- 
ture of Jerusalem. Amongst the spoils taken by the 
Turks, he mentions ermines, 1 sables, and all kinds of 
rich furs, purple and gold embroidery, and an incalcu- 
lable quantity of silver. The roads, he says, were so 
strewed with riches, that the pursuers trod upon 
nothing but besants and other pieces of money, pre- 
cious stones, vases of gold and silver, and every sort of 
silk and fine stuff. 

The Turks proceeded to battle with even greater 
magnificence ; and, after the victories of Antioch and 
Ascalon, we read continually of invaluable booty, 
jewels, 2 golden helmets and armour, standards of sil- 
ver, and scimitars of unknown worth. The arms of 
the Turks were lighter, in all probability, than those 
of the Christians, and in general consisted of the 
sword and the bow, in the use of which they were ex- 
ceedingly skilful. 3 We find, however, that the various 
nations of which the Mahommedan armies were com- 
posed used very different weapons ; though all were 
remarkable for the manner in which they eluded their 
enemies, by their skill in horsemanship, and the fleet- 

1 Albert of Aix, lib. viii. 2 Fulcher ; Guibert. 

* Albert of Aix $ Fulcher 5 Robertus Monachus. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



185 



ness of their chargers. One nation mentioned by 
Albert of Aix, under the title of Azoparts, are called 
the invincible, and were furnished with heavy maces, 
with which they aimed at the heads of the horses, and 
seldom failed to bring them down. 

After the conquest of Palestine by the Christians, 
the surrounding tribes continued to wage an un- 
ceasing war against their invaders ; but nevertheless 
many of the Mussulman towns, within the limits of the 
kingdom of Jerusalem, submitted to the conquerors, 
and were admitted to pay tribute. A free communi- 
cation also took place between the followers of the 
two religions, and a greater degree of connexion be- 
gan to exist than was very well consistent with the 
fanaticism of either people. A mixed race even 
sprang up from the European 2 and Asiatic popula- 
tion, the children of parents from different continents 
being called Pullani. At the same time the country 
was governed by European laws, 3 which, not coming 
within the absolute scope of this book, I must avoid 
treating of, from the very limited space to which I am 
obliged to confine myself. Suffice it to say, that 
Godfrey of Bouillon, amongst the first cares of go- 
vernment, appointed a commission to inquire into the 
laws and customs of the various nations which formed 
the population of the country he was called to rule. 
From the investigation thus entered into was drawn up 
an admirable code of feudal law, under the title of 
Assizes de Jerusalem. Two institutions of a strictly 
chivalrous nature, which were founded, properly 
speaking, between the first and second crusade, 4 I 
must mention here, as all the after history of knight- 
hood is more or less connected with their progress. I 
mean the two military orders of the Hospital and the 
Temple. 

1 Fulcher ; William of Tyre ; Albert. 2 Ducange. 

3 Assizes par Thaumassiere. 4 William of Tyre, lib. xviii. 



184 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



The spirit of religious devotion and military fervour 
had been so intimately united during the whole of the 
crusade, that the combination of the austere rules of 
the monk, with the warlike activity of the soldier, 
seems to have been a necessary consequence of the 
wars of the cross. 

Long previous to the crusade, some of the citizens 
of Amalfi having been led to Jerusalem, 1 partly from 
feelings of devotion, partly in the pursuit of commerce, 
had witnessed the misery to which pilgrims were ex- 
posed on their road to the Holy Land, and determined 
to found an hospital in w T hich pious travellers might be 
protected and solaced after their arrival at the end of 
their journey. The influence which the Italian mer- 
chants possessed through their commercial relations at 
the court of the calif, easily obtained permission to 
establish the institution proposed. A piece of ground 
near the supposed site of the holy sepulchre was as- 
signed to them, and the chapel and hospital were ac- 
cordingly built, at different times, and placed under 
the patronage — the one of St. Mary, and the other of 
St. John the Almoner. 

A religious house was also constructed for those cha- 
ritable persons, of both sexes, who chose to dedicate 
themselves to the service of the pilgrims, and who, on 
their admission, subjected themselves to the rule of St. 
Benedict. All travellers, whether Greeks or Latins, 
were received into the hospital ; and the monks even 
extended their charitable care to the sick or poor Mus- 
sulmans who surrounded them. 

During the siege of Jerusalem by the crusaders, all 
the principal Christians of the town were thrown into 
prison ; amongst others, the abbot (as he is called 
by James of Vitry) 2 .of the monastery of St. John. He 
was a Frenchman by birth, named Gerard ; and, after 
the taking of the city, was liberated, with other Chris- 



J Vertot. 2 Hist. Hierosol. ; Jacob. Vitri. 



HISTOUY OF CHIVALRY. 



185 



tian prisoners, and returned to the duties of his office, 
in attending the sick and wounded crusaders who 
were brought into the Hospital. After the battle of 
Ascalon, Godfrey visited the establishment, where 
he still found many of the followers of the crusade, 
who, struck with admiration at the institution, and 
filled with gratitude for the services they had received, 
determined to embrace the order, and dedicate their 
lives also, to acts of charity. Godfrey, as a reward for 
the benefits which these holy men had conferred on his 
fellow-christians, endowed the hospital (now in a de- 
gree separated from the abbey of St. Mary) with a 
large estate, in his hereditary dominions in Brabant. 
Various other gifts were added by the different cru- 
saders of rank ; and the Poor Brothers of the Hospital 
of St. John began to find themselves a rich and flour- 
ishing community. It was at this period that they 
first took the black habit and the white cross of eight 
points, and subjected themselves, by peculiar vows, to 
the continual attendance on pilgrims and sick per- 
sons. 1 Pascal II. soon after bestowed upon the order 
several valuable privileges, amongst which were, ex- 
emption from all tithes, the right of electing their 
own superior, and absolute immunity from all secu- 
lar or clerical interference. The constant resort of 
pilgrims to the Holy Land, not only increased the 
wealth of the Hospitallers, but spread their fame to 
other countries. Princes and kings conferred lands 
and benefices upon them, and the order began to 
throw out ramifications into Europe, where hospitals, 
under the same rule, were erected, and may be consi- 
dered as the first commanderies of the institution. 

At the death of Gerard, which took place almost 
immediately after that of Baldwin I. Raimond 
Dupuy, one of the crusaders who had attached him- 
self to the Hospital on having been cured of his 



1 Vertot Preuves. 



186 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



wounds received at the siege of Jerusalem, was elected 
master, and soon conceived the idea of rendering the 
wealth and number of the Hospitallers serviceable to 
the state, in other ways than those which they had 
hitherto pursued. His original profession, of course 
led him to the thought of combining war with devo- 
tion, and he proposed to his brethren to reassume the 
sword, binding themselves, however, by a vow, to 
draw it only against the enemies of Christ. In what 
precise year the Hospitallers first appeared in armsi is 
not very clearly ascertained ; but it is a matter of no 
moment, and it is certain that they became a military 
body during the reign of Baldwin du Bourg. 1 

The order of St. John was then divided into three 
classes, knights, clergy, and serving brothers. Each 
of these classes still, when absent from the field, dedi- 
cated themselves to the service of the sick ; but the 
knights were chosen from the noble, or military rank, of 
the Hospitallers, and commanded in battle and in the 
hospital. The clergy, besides the ordinary duties of 
their calling, followed the armies as almoners and 
chaplains ; and the serving brothers fought under the 
knights in battle, or obeyed their directions in their 
attendance on the sick. At first, the garments and 
food of these grades were the same. The vows also 
were alike to all, and implied chastity, obedience to 
their superior and to the council, together with indi- 
vidual poverty. 

The objects now proposed were war against the in- 
fidels, and protection and comfort to the Christian 
pilgrims. The knights were bound by strict and 
severe rules ; they were enjoined to avoid all luxury, 
to travel two or three together, seeking only such 
lodging in the various towns, as was provided for them 
by their community, and burning a light during the 
night, that they might be always prepared against the 

1 Vertot. 



a 



HISTOItY OF CHIVALRY. 



187 



enemy. Their faults 1 were heavily punished by fasts, 
by imprisonments, and even by expulsion from the 
order ; and they were taught to look for no reward but 
from on high. Nevertheless, before the good Bishop 
of Acre composed his curious work on the Holy 
Land, probably about the year 1228, the hospitallers, 
he tells us, were buying for themselves castles and 
towns, and submitting territories to their authority 
like the princes of the earth. 

The origin of the order of Red-cross Knights, or 
Templars, was very different, though its military 
object was nearly the same. The Christian power in 
Palestine was probably as firmly established at the 
time of Baldwin du Bourg, as during any other pe- 
riod of its existence ; yet the mixture of the population, 
the proximity of a thousand inimical tribes, the rov- 
ing habits of the Turks, who — generally worsted by 
the Christians in the defence of cities and in arrayed 
fields — now harassed their enemies with a constant, 
but flying, warfare ; all rendered the plains of the 
Holy Land a scene of unremitting strife, where the pil- 
grim and the traveller were continually exposed to 
danger, plunder, and death. Some French knights, 
who had followed the first crusade, 2 animated beyond 
their fellows with the religious and military fury which 
inspired that enterprise, entered into a solemn com- 
pact to aid each other in freeing the highways of the 
Holy Land, protecting pilgrims and travellers, and 
fighting against the enemies of the cross. They em- 
braced the rule of St. Augustin ; renounced all 
worldly goods, and bound themselves by oath to obey 
the commands of their grand master ; to defend the 
Christian faith ; to cross the seas in aid of their 
brethren ; to fight unceasingly against the infidel, and 
never to turn back from less than four adversaries. 3 

1 Jacob. Vitriaci in Hist. Hierosol. 2 William of Tyre. 

3 Jac. Vitriaci - y Hist. Hierosol. 



188 



HISTORY Of CHIVALRY. 



The founders of this order were Hugh de Paganis and 
Geoffrey de St. Aldemar — or according to some, de St. 
Omer — who had both signalized themselves in the reli- 
gious wars. Having no fixed dwelling, the Templars 
were assigned a lodging in a palace, in the immediate 
vicinity of the Temple, from whence they derived the 
name by which they have since been known. The 
number of these knights was at first but nine, and 
during the nine years which followed their institution, 
they were marked by no particular garb, 1 wear- 
ing the secular habit of the day, which was fur- 
nished to them by charity alone. The clergy of 
the temple itself, conferred on their body a space of 
ground between that building and the palace, 2 for the 
purpose of military exercises, and various other bene- 
fices speedily followed. At the council 3 ofTroyes, 
their situation was considered, and a white garment 
was appointed for their dress. Their vows became 
very similar to those of the knights of St. John ; the 
numbers of the body rapidly augmented ; possessions 
and riches flowed in upon them apace, as their services 
became extended and general. They added a red cross 
to their robe, and raised a banner of their own, 
on which they bestowed the name of Beauseant. The 
order as it increased, was soon divided into the various 
classes of servants of arms, esquires, and knights ; and, 
in addition to their great standard, which was white 

1 Will.Tyrensis, lib. xxii. ; Jacob. Vit. 
3 William of Tyre. 

3 William of Tyre marks precisely, that the particular rules to 
which they were subjected, and the dress to which they were 
restricted, were regularly fixed by the church at the council of 
Troyes, in the course of the ninth year after their first institu- 
tion. Now the council of Troyes took place in 1128, and Bald- 
win du Bourg ascended the throne of Jerusalem on the 2d 
of April, 1118, ten years previously. Their first institution, 
therefore, could not be in the reign of Baldwin I., as Mills 
has stated it, without a gross error on the part of the Arch- 
bishop of Tyre, who wrote in the year 1184, and therefore was 
not likely to be mistaken on a subject so near his own days. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY* 



189 



with the red cross — symbolical, like their dress, of 
purity of life, and courage, even to death — they bore to 
battle a banner composed of white and black stripes, 
intended to typify their tenderness to their friends and 
implacability towards their enemies. Their valour 
became so noted, that like that of the famous tenth 
legion, 1 it was a support to itself; and, according to 
James of Vitry, any Templar, on hearing the cry to 
arms, would have been ashamed to have asked the 
number of the enemy. The only question was, 
" Where are they?" 

On entering the order, the grand master cautioned the 
aspirant that he was, in a manner, called upon to re- 
sign his individuality. Not only his property and his 
body, but his very thoughts, belonged, from the mo- 
ment of his admission, to the institution of which he 
became a part. He was bound in every thing to obey 
the commands of his superior, and poverty of course 
formed a part of his vow. His inclinations, his feel- 
ings, his passions, were all to be rendered subservient 
to the cause he embraced ; and he was exhorted to 
remember, before he engaged himself to the perform- 
ance of so severe an undertaking, that he would often 
be obliged to watch, when he desired to sleep, to suf- 
fer toil, when his limbs required rest, and to undergo 
the pangs of thirst and the cravings of hunger, when 
food would be most delightful. 

After these and similar warnings of the painful and 
self-denying nature of the task which he was about to 
impose upon himself, he was asked three times if he 
still desired to enter into the order, and on giving 
an answer in the affirmative, he was invested with the 
robe, and admitted to the vows, after previous proof 
that he was qualified in other respects, according to 
the rules of the institution. 

No possible means has ever been devised of keeping 

1 Hist. Hierosoh y Jacob, Vitriaci. 



190 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



any body of men poor : and the Templars, whose first 
device was two knights riding on one horse, to signify 
their poverty and humility, were soon one of the 
richest, and beyond comparison the proudest, of the 
European orders. Their preceptories were to be found 
in every country, and as their vows did not embrace 1 
the charitable avocations which, with the knights of 
St. John, filled up the hours unemployed in military 
duties, the Templars soon added to their pride all 
that host of vices which so readily step in to occupy 
the void of idleness. While the knights of St. John, 
spreading benefit and comfort around them, notwith- 
standing many occasional faults and errors, remained 
esteemed and beloved, on the whole, both by so- 
vereigns and people ; the knights of the Temple 
were only suffered for some centuries, feared, hated, 
avoided ; and at last, were crushed at a moment when 
it is probable that a reform was about to work itself in 
their order. 3 

1 The Templars founded many charitable institutions, but 
attendance on the sick was not a part of their profession. 

2 For a more particular and correct account of the armour 
of the crusades, I must refer to the invaluable work of Dr. Mey- 
rick, which I regret much not to have had by me while writing 
this book. My sources of information have been alone the his- 
torians of the day, in consulting whom the ambiguity of lan- 
guage is very often likely to induce error in matters which, like 
armour, are difficult to describe. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



191 



CHAPTER X. 



CONSEQUENCES OF THE LOSS OF EDESSA — THE STATE OF FRANCE UNFAVOUR- 
ABLE TO A NEW CRUSADE — VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF SOCIETY— CAUSES 
AND CHARACTER OF THE SECOND CRUSADE — ST. BERNARD— THE EMPEROR 
OF GERMANY TAKES THE CROSS AND SETS OUT — LOUIS VII. FOLLOWS— 
CONDUCT OF THE GERMANS IN GREECE — THEIR DESTRUCTION IN CAPPA- 
DOCIA— TREACHERY OF MANUEL COMNEN US— LOUIS VII. ARRIVES AT CON- 
STANTINOPLE — passes into asi a— defeats the turks on the meander — 

HIS ARMY CUT TO PIECES — PROCEEDS BY SEA TO ANTIOCH — FATE OF HIS 
REMAINING TROOPS— INTRIGUES AT ANTIOCH— LOUIS GOES ON TO JERUSA- 
LEM — SIEGE OF DAMASCUS— DISGRACEFUL FAILURE— CONRAD RETURNS TO 
EUROPE— CONDUCT OF SUGER, ABBOT OF ST. DENIS— TERMINATION OF THE 
SECOND CRUSADE. 

The loss of Edessa shook the kingdom of Jerusalem ; 
not so much from the importance of the city or its 
territory, as from the exposed state in which it left 
the frontier of the newly-established monarchy. The 
activity, the perseverance, the power of the Moslems, 
had been too often felt not to be dreaded, and there 
is every reason to believe, that the clergy spoke but 
the wishes of the whole people, when in their letters to 
Europe, they pressed their Christian brethren to come 
once more to the succour of Jerusalem. Shame and 
ambition led the young Count of Edessa to attempt 
the recovery of his capital as soon as the death of 
Zenghi, who had taken it, reached his ears. He 
in consequence collected a large body of troops, and 
on presenting himself before the walls during the 
night, was admitted, by his friends, into the town. 
There, he turned his whole efforts to force the Turkish 
garrison in the citadel to surrender, before Nour- 
haddin, the son of Zenghi, could arrive to its aid. 
But the Saracens held out ; and, while the Latin sol- 
diers besieged the castle, they found themselves sud 



192 



HISTORY OF CHIVALKY, 



denly surrounded by a large body of the enemy, under 
the command of Nourhaddin. In this situation they 
endeavoured to cut their way through the Turkish force, 
but, attacked on every side, few of them escaped to tell 
the tale of their own defeat. Nourhaddin marched 
over their necks into Edessa, and in order to remove 
for ever that bulwark to the Christian kingdom of Je- 
rusalem, he caused the fortifications to be razed to 
the ground. 

The consternation of the people of Palestine be- 
came great and general. The road to the Holy City 
lay open before the enemy, and continual applications 
for assistance reached Europe, but more particularly 
France. 

The state of that country, however, was the least 1 
propitious, that it is possible to conceive for a crusade. 
The position of all the orders of society had undergone 
a change since the period when the wars of the cross 
were first preached by Peter the Hermit; and, of the 
many causes which had combined to hurry the armed 
multitudes to the Holy Land, none remained but the 
spirit of religious fanaticism and military enterprise. At 
the time of the first crusade, the feudal system had 
reached the acme of its power. The barons had 

1 Mills says " The news of the loss of the eastern frontier of 
the Latin Kingdom, reached France at a time peculiarly favour- 
able for foreign war." It will be seen that I have taken up a posi- 
tion as exactly the reverse of that assumed by that excellent author 
as can well be conceived ; but I have not done so without much 
investigation, and the more I consider the subject, the more I 
am convinced, that the moment when the feudal power was 
checked by the king and assailed by the communes, was not the 
most propitious to call the nobility to foreign lands — that the 
moment in which the burghers were labouring up hill for inde- 
pendence, was not a time for them to abandon the scene of 
their hopes and endeavours — and that the moment when a king- 
dom was torn by conflicting powers, when the royal authority 
was unconfirmed, and the nobility only irritated at its exertion, 
was not the period that a monarch should have chosen to quit 
his dominions. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



193 



placed a king upon the throne. They had rendered 
their own dominion independent of his, and though 
they still acknowledged some ties between themselves 
and the monarch — some vague and general power of 
restraint in the king and his court of peers — yet those 
ties were so loose, that power was so undefined in its 
nature, and so difficult in its exercise, that the nobles 
were free, and at liberty to act in whatever direction, 
enthusiasm, ambition, or cupidity might call them, 
without fear of the sovereign, who was, in fact, but one 
of their own body loaded with a crown. 

The people, too, at that time, both in the towns and 
in the fields, were the mere slaves of the nobility; and 
as there existed scarcely a shadow of vigour in the 
kingly authority, so there remained not an idea of dis- 
tinct rights and privileges amongst the populace. 
Thus, the Baronage were then unfettered by dread from 
any quarter ; and the lower classes — both the poorer 
nobility, and that indistinct tribe (which we find evi- 
dently 1 marked) who were neither among the absolute 
serfs of any lord, nor belonging to the military cast — - 
were all glad to engage themselves in wars which held 
out to them riches and exaltation in this world, and 
beatification in the next ; while they could hope for 
nothing in their own land but pillage, oppression, and 

1 A curious essay might be written on the classes or castes in 
Europe at that period. It is quite a mistaken notion which 
some persons have entertained, that the only distinctions under 
the monarch were, noble and serf. We find an immense class, 
Or rather various classes, all of which consisted of freemen, in- 
terposed between the lord and his slave. Thus Galbertus Syn- 
dick of Bruges, in recounting the death of Charles the Good, 
Count of Flanders, a.d. 1130, mentions not only the Burghers 
of the town, but various other persons who were not of the 
noble race, but were then evidently free, as well as the Brabancois 
or Cotereaux, a sort of freebooting soldier of that day. Guibert 
of Nogent also, in his own life, and Frodoardus in the history 
of Rheims, refer to many of whose exact station it is difficult 
to form an idea. 

o 



194 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



wrong ; or slaughter in feuds without an object, and 
in battles for the benefit of others. 

Before the second crusade was contemplated, a 
change — an immense change had operated itself in 
the state of society. Just fifty [years had passed 
since the council of Clermont : but the kings of 
France were no longer the same ; the royal authority 
had acquired force 1 — the latent principles of domination 
had been exercised for the general good. Kings had 
put forth their hands to check abuses, to punish vio- 
lence and crime ; and the feudal system began to 
assume the character not of a simple confederation, 
but of an organized hierarchy? in which the whole 
body was the judge of each individual, and the head 
of that body the executor of its sentence. Louis VI., 
commonly called Louis the Fat, 3 was the first among 
the kings of France, who raised the functions of 
royalty above those of sovereignty, and the distinction 
between the two states is an important one. The 
former monarchs of France, including Philip I., under 
whose reign the first crusade was preached, had each 
been but sovereigns, who could call upon their vas- 
sals to serve them for so many days in the field, and 
whose rights were either simply personal, that is to 
say, for their own dignity and benefit, or only general 
so far as the protection of the whole confederacy from 
foreign invasion was implied. Louis the Fat, however, 
saw that in the kingly office was comprised both 
duties and rights of a different character ; the right of 
punishing private crime, 4 and of opposing universal 
wrong ; the duty of maintaining public order, and of 
promoting by one uniform and acknowledged power, 
the tranquillity of the whole society, and the security 
of each individual. The efforts of that prince were 

1 Rouillard, Histoire cle Melun ; Vie de Bouchard. 

2 I know that I use this word not quite correctly, but I cau 
find none other to express more properly what I mean. 

3 Suger in vit. Ludovic. VI. 4 Galbert in vit. Carol. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



195 



confined and partial it is true ; l but he and his great 
minister, Suger, seized the just idea of the monarchical 
form of government, and laid the basis of a well- 
directed and legitimate authority. 

This authority, of course, was not pleasing to the 
barons, whose licence was thus curtailed. Their views, 
therefore, were turned rather to the maintenance of 
their own unjust privileges, than to foreign adven- 
tures. At the same time, the nobles found themselves 
assailed by the classes below them, as well as by the 
power above, and the people of the towns were seen to 
struggle for the rights and immunities so long denied to 
them. The Burghers had, 2 indeed, been permitted to 
labour in some small degree for themselves. Though 
subject to terrible and grievous exactions, they had 
still thriven under the spirit of commerce and industry. 
Their lords had sometimes even recourse to them for 
assistance. The greater part, though of the servile 
race, had been either freed, or were descended from 
freed men ; and the baron of the town in which they 
lived, though cruel and tyrannical, was more an ex- 
acting protector than a master. At length — the pre- 
cise time is unknown — the people of the cities' began 
to think of protecting themselves; and, by mutual co- 
operation, they strove at once to free themselves from 
the tyranny of a superior lord, and to defend them- 
selves against the encroachments of others. The word 
commune 3 was introduced, and each town of consider- 
able size, hastened to struggle for its liberty. At first 
the horror and indignation of the nobles were beyond 
all conception ; but the spirit of union among them 
was not sufficiently active to put down that which 
animated the commons. 

Each lord had to oppose his revolted subjects 
alone ; and after long and sanguinary contests, 4 some 
times the baron, the bishop, or the abbot, succeeded in 

1 Suger in vit. Ludovic. VI. 2 Chron. Vezeliac. 

3 Guibert. Nog-, in vit. s. 4 Chron. Vezeliac. 
o 2 



196 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



subjugating the people; sometimes the Burghers con- 
trived, by perseverance, to wring from the nobles them- 
selves a charter which assured their freedom. 

This struggle 1 was at its height at the time when 
the fall of Edessa and the growing power of the Mos- 
lems, called Europe to engage in a second crusade ; 
but the barons at that moment found their privileges 
invaded both by the crown and the people ; and the 
latter discovered that they had rights to maintain in their 
own land — that they were no longer the mere slaves, 
to whom all countries were alike— that prospects were 
opened before them which, during the first crusade, they 
hardly dreamed of — that the swords which had before 
been employed in fighting the quarrels of their lords 
at home, or raising them to honour and fame abroad, 
were now required to defend their property, their hap- 
piness, and the new station they had created for 
themselves in society. Thus the period at which 
aid became imperatively necessary to the Christians 
at Jerusalem, was when France was least calculated 
to afford it. Nevertheless, the superstition of a king 
and the eloquence of a churchman combined to pro- 
duce a second crusade, but in this instance it was but 
a great military expedition, and no longer the enthu- 
siastic effort of a nation, or a great popular movement 
throughout the whole of the Christian world. 

One of the strongest proofs of this fact, 2 is the scan- 
tiness of historians on the second crusade, and the 
style in which those that do exist, speak of its opera- 
tions. It is no longer the glory of Christendom that 
they mention, but the glory of the king ; no more the 
deliverance of the Holy Land, but merely the acts of 
the monarch. 

1 Gesta regis Ludovici VII. 

2 The only two I know who accompanied this crusade, and 
wrote any detailed account of it, are Odon de Deuil, or Odo de 
Diagolo, and Frisingen, or Freysinghen. It is an extraordinary 
fact that the Cardinal de Vitry makes no mention of the second 
crusade. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALKY. 



197 



In pursuance of the general plan of extending the 
dominion of the crown, which had been conceived by 
Louis VI., and carried on with such infinite persever- 
ance by his great minister Suger, Louis VII., the suc- 
ceeding monarch, on hearing of the election of the 
Archbishop of Bourges by the chapter of that city, with- 
out his previous consent, had declared the nomination in- 
valid, and proceeded to acts of such flagrant opposition 
to the papal jurisdiction, that the church used her most 
terrific thunders to awe the monarch to her will. Thi- 
balt, Count of Champagne, armed in support of the 
pope's authority, and Louis instantly marched to chas- 
tise his rebellious vassal. Thibalt was soon reduced to 
obedience, but the anger of the monarch was not 
appeased by submission ; for, even after the town of 
Vitry had surrendered, he set fire to the church, in 
which nearly thirteen hundred people had taken refuge, 
and disgraced his triumph by one of the direst pieces 
of cruelty upon record. A severe illness, however, 
soon followed, and reflection brought remorse. At 
that time the news of the fall of Edessa was fresh 
in Europe ; and Louis, in the vain hope of expiating 
his crime, determined to promote a crusade, and lead 
his forces himself to the aid of Jerusalem. 

Deputies were speedily sent to the Pope Eugenius, 
who willingly abetted in the king's design, and com- 
missioned the famous St. Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, 
to preach the cross through France and Germany. 
St. Bernard possessed every requisite for such a mis* 
sion. 1 From his earliest years he had been filled with 
religious enthusiasm; he had abandoned high pro- 
spects to dedicate himself entirely to an austere and 
gloomy fanaticism; he had reformed many abuses in 
the church, reproved crime wherever he found it, and 
raised the clerical character in the eyes of the people, 
too much accustomed to behold among his order no- 



1 William of St. Thierry, Mabillon. 



198 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



thing but vice, ignorance, and indolence. He was one 
of the most powerful orators of his day, endowed with 
high and commanding talents of many kinds ; and in 
his controversy with the celebrated Abelard, the severe 
purity of his life and manners had proved most elo- 
quent against his rival. Thus, when after repeated 
entreaties 1 he went forth to preach the crusade, few 
that heard him were not either impressed by his sanc- 
tity, persuaded by his eloquence, or carried away 
by his zeal : and thus, notwithstanding the unfa- 
vourable state of France, 3 a multitude of men took 
the symbol of the cross, and prepared to follow the 
monarch into Palestine. In Germany the effects of 
his overpowering oratory were the same. Those 
who understood not even the language that he spoke, 
became awed by his gestures and the dignified enthu- 
siasm of his manner, and devoted themselves to the 
crusade, though the tongue in which it was preached 
was unknown to them. Wherever he went his pre- 
sence was supposed to operate miracles, and the sick 
are reported to have recovered by his touch, or at his 
command ; while all the legions of devils, with which 
popish superstition peopled the atmosphere, took flight 
at his approach. For some time Conrad, Emperor of 
Germany, suffered 3 St. Bernard to call the inhabitants 
of his dominions to the crusade without taking any 
active part in his proceedings, but at length the 
startling eloquence of the Abbot of Clairvaux reached 
even the bosom of the monarch, and he declared his 
intention of following the cross himself. At Vezelai 
Louis VII. received the symbol; but the most powerful 
obstacle that he found to his undertaking was the just 
and continued opposition of his minister, 4 Suger, who 
endeavoured by every means to dissuade the monarch 
from abandoning his kingdom. All persuasions were 

1 Geoffroi de Clairvaux ; Continuation of the Life of St. Bernard. 

2 Odo of Deuil. 3 Mabillon. 4 Guizot. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



199 



vain ; and having committed the care of his estates 
to that faithful servant, 1 Louis himself, accompanied 
by Eleonor, his queen, departed for Metz, where he 
was joined by an immense multitude of nobles and 
knights, among whom were crusaders from England 2 
and the remote islands of the northern sea. Ambassa- 
dors from Roger, King of Apulia, had already warned 
Louis of the treachery of the Greeks, and besought 
him to take any other way than that through the 
dominions of the emperor; but the French monarch 
was biassed by other counsels, and determined upon 
following the plan before laid down. 

The Emperor of Germany was the first 3 to set out, 
and by June reached Constantinople in safety, followed 
by a large body of armed men, and a number of 
women whose gay dress, half military, half feminine, 
gave the march the appearance of some bright fantastic 
cavalcade. 

The King of France, having previously received 4 at 
St. Denis, the consecrated banner as a warrior, and 
the staff and scrip 5 as a pilgrim, now quitted Metz, 
and proceeded by Worms and Ratisbon. Here 
he was met by envoys from the Emperor of the 
East, charged with letters so filled with flattery and 
fair speeches, that Louis is reported to have blushed, 
and the Bishop of Langres to have observed — 

Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes. 

Here, 6 too, the French beheld, for the first time, the 
custom of an inferior standing in the presence of his 
lord. The object of the Emperor was to obtain from 

1 a. d. 1147. 2 Odon de Deuil. 3 William of Tyre. 

4 Odon de Deuil. 5 See note X. 

6 It appears from the passage of Odo of Deuil which mentions 
the curious servility, as he designates it, of the Greeks never 
sitting down in the presence of a superior till desired to do so, 
that the French of that day were not quite so ceremonious as in 
that of Louis XIV. 



200 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



Louis a promise to pass through his territories without 
violence, and to yield to him every town from which 
he should expel the Turks, and which had ever belonged 
to the Grecian territory. 

Part of this proposal was acceded to, and part re- 
fused: and the army marched on through Hungary 
into Greece. The progress of the second crusade was 
of course subject to the same difficulties that attended 
that of the first, through a waste and deserted land ; but 
many other obstacles no longer existed — the people 
of the country were more accustomed to the appearance 
of strangers ; 1 the army was restrained by the presence 
of the king; and the whole account of the march to 
Constantinople leaves the impression of a more civil- 
ized state of society than that which existed at the pe- 
riod of the first crusade. We meet with no massacres, no 
burning of towns, no countries laid waste; and though 
there are to be found petty squabbles between the sol- 
diers and the townspeople, frays, and even bloodshed; 
yet these were but individual outrages, kindled by pri- 
vate passions, and speedily put down by the arm of 
authority. 

The Germans 2 were less fortunate on their way than 
the French, and some serious causes of quarrel sprung 
up between them and the Greeks, in which it is 
difficult to discover who were the chief aggressors. 
The Greeks call the Germans 3 barbarians, and the Ger- 
mans accuse the Greeks of every kind of treachery ; but 
it appears evident, 4 that Conrad himself was guilty of 
no small violence on his approach to Constantinople. 
A most magnificent garden had been laid out at a little 
distance from that capital, filled with every vege- 
table luxury of the day, and containing within its walls 
vast herds of tame animals, for whose security woods 
had been planted, caverns dug, and lakes contrived ; 

1 Odo of Deuil. 2 Nicetas. 

3 Cinnamus, cited by Mills. 4 Odon de Deuil. 



t 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



201 



so that the beasts which were confined in this vast 
prison might follow their natural habits, as if still at 
liberty. Here also were several buildings, in which 
the Emperors were accustomed to enjoy the summer: 
but Conrad, with an unceremonious freedom, partak- 
ing not a little of barbarism, broke into this retreat, 
and wasted and destroyed all that it had required 
the labour of years to accomplish. Manuel Com- 
nenus, who now sat on the throne of Constantinople, 
beheld, from the windows of his palace, this strange 
scene of wa.nton aggression; and sent messengers 1 to 
Conrad, who was connected with him by marriage, 3 
desiring an interview. But the Greek would not trust 
himself out of the walls of his capital, and the German 
would not venture within them, so that a short time 
was passed in negotiation; and then Conrad passed 
over the Hellespont with his forces, relieving the east- 
ern sovereign from the dread and annoyance of his 
presence. Manuel, however, furnished the German 
army with guides to conduct it through Asia Minor, 
and almost all accounts attribute to the Greek the 
design of betraying his Christian brethren into the 
hands of the infidels. After passing the sea, the 
troops of Conrad proceeded in two bodies, 3 the one 
under the Emperor, and the other under the Bishop of 
Freysinghen; but the guides with which they had 
been provided, led them into the pathless wilds of 
Cappaclocia, where famine soon reached them. At 
the moment also when they expected to arrive at Ico- 
nium, 4 they found themselves attacked by the army of 
the infidels, swelled to an immense extent by the 
efforts of the Sultaun of the Seljukian Turks, who, 
on the first approach of the Christian forces, had 
spared no means to ensure their destruction. The 

1 Odon de Deuil. 

2 , Manuel Comnenus had married Bertha, and Conrad Gertrude, 
both daughters of Berenger the elder, Count of Sultzhach. 
3 Odon de Deuil. 4 William of Tyre ; Odon de Deuil. 



202 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



heavy-armed Germans 1 in vain endeavoured to close 
with the light and agile horsemen of the Turkish 
host. The treacherous guides had fled on the first 
sight of the infidels, and the enemy hovered round and 
round the German army, as it struggled on through the 
unknown deserts in which it was entangled, smiting 
every straggler, and hastening its annihilation by con- 
tinual attacks. Favoured by the fleetness of their 
horses, and their knowledge of the localities, they 
passed and repassed the exhausted troops of the Em- 
peror, 2 who now endeavoured to retrace his steps, 
under a continued rain of arrows. No part of the 
army offered security. The famous Count Bernard, 
with many others, was cut off fighting in the rear ; 
the van was constantly in the presence of an active 
foe ; and the Emperor himself was twice wounded 
by arrows which fell in the centre of the host. Thus, 
day after day, thousands on thousands were added to 
the slain; and, when at length Conrad reached the 
town of Nice, of seventy thousand knights, and an 
immense body of foot, who had followed him from 
Europe, scarcely a tenth part were to be found in the 
ranks of his shattered army. 

That he was betrayed into the hands of the Turks 
by the guides furnished by the Emperor, no earthly 
doubt can be entertained ; nor is it questionable that 
Manuel Comnenus was at that time secretly engaged in 
treaty with the infidels. It is not, indeed, absolutely 

1 The Pope, in his exhortation to the second crusade, had not 
only regulated the general conduct of the crusaders, and for- 
mally absolved all those who should embrace the cross, but he 
had given minute particulars for their dress and arms, expressly 
forbidding all that might encumber them in their journey, such 
as heavy baggage, and vain superfluities, and all that might lead 
them from the direct road, such as falcons and hunting- dogs. 
" Happy had it been for them," says Odo of Deuil, " if, instead 
of a scrip, he had commanded the foot pilgrims to bear a cross- 
bow, and instead of a staff, a sword. 

2 Odo of Deuil 5 Will. Tyr. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALKY. 



203 



proved that the Monarch of Constantinople ordered or 
connived at the destruction of the Christian forces, but 
every historian 1 of the day has suspected him of the 
treachery, and when such is the case it is probable 
there was good cause for suspicion. 

In the mean while, Louis the younger led the French 
host to Constantinople, and, unlike Conrad, instantly 
accepted the Emperor's invitation to enter the city 
with a small train. Manuel received him as an equal, 
descending to the porch of his palace to meet his 
royal guest. He, of course, pretended to no homage 
from the King of France, but still his object was to se- 
cure to himself all the conquests which Louis might 
make in the ancient appendages of Greece, without 
acting himself against the infidels. 

To force the French monarch into this concession 
he pursued a plan of irritating and uncertain negotia- 
tions, not at all unlike those carried on by his prede- 
cessor Alexius, 2 towards the leaders of the former cru- 
sade. In the midst of these, however, it was discovered 
that Manuel had entered into a secret treaty with the 
Turks; and, indeed, the confidence which the deceitful 
Greeks placed in the promises of the crusaders, forms 
a singular and reproachful comment on the constant 
and remorseless breach of their own. There were 
many of the leaders of the French who did not scruple 
to urge Louis to punish by arms, the gross perfidy of 
the Greek Emperor ; and, by taking possession of Con- 
stantinople, to sweep away the continual stumbling- 
block by which the efforts of all the crusades had 
been impeded. Had Louis acceded to their wishes 
great and extraordinary results would, no doubt, have 
been effected towards the permanent occupation of the 
Holy Land by the Christian powers ; but that monarch 
was not to be seduced into violating his own good faith 

1 Will. Tyr. Odon de Deuil ; Gest. Ludovic. VII. ; Nicetas. 

2 Odon de Deuil. 



204 



HISTORY GF CHIVALRY. 



by the treachery of another, and after having, on the 
other hand, refused to aid Manuel in the war which 
had arisen between him and Roger, King of Apulia, 
he crossed the Bosphorus, and passed into Asia Minor. 
Thence advancing through Nicomedia, 1 Louis proceeded 
to Nice, and encamped under the walls of that city. 
Here, the first reports reached him of the fate of the 
German army, for hitherto the Greeks had continued 
to fill his ears with nothing but the successes of his 
fellows in arms. For a time the news was disbelieved, 
but very soon the arrival of Frederic, Duke of Suabia, 
charged with messages from the German monarch, 
brought the melancholy certainty of his defeat. 

Louis did all that he could to assuage the grief of the 
Emperor Conrad, 2 and uniting their forces they now 
marched on by the sea-coast to Ephesus. Here, however, 
Conrad, mortified at a companionship in which the 
inferiority of his own troops was painfully contrasted 
with the multitude and freshness of the French, sepa- 
rated again from Louis; and, sending back the greater 
part of his army by land, took ship himself and re- 
turned to Constantinople, where he was received both 
with more distinction and more sincerity, on account 
of the scantiness of his retinue, and the disasters he 
had suffered. 

In the mean while, the French proceeded on their 
way, and after travelling for some days without op- 
position, they first encountered the Turks on the banks 
of the Meander. 3 Proud of their success against the 
Germans, the infidels determined to contest the pas- 
sage of the river ; but the French knights, having found 
a ford, traversed the stream without difficulty, and 
routed the enemy with great slaughter. The loss of 
the Christians was so small, consisting only of one 
knight, 4 who perished in the river, that they as usual 

1 Will. Tyr. ; Odon de Deuil. 

2 Odon de Deuil ; Freysinghen ; William of Tyre. 

3 William of Tyre. 4 Odon de Deuil. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



205 



had recourse to a miracle, to account for so cheap a 
victory. 

Passing onward to Laodicea they found that town 
completely deserted, and the environs laid waste ; and 
they here heard of the complete destruction of that 
part of the German army, which had been commanded 
by the Bishop of Freysinghen. 1 In the second day's 
journey, after quitting Laodicea, a steep mountain pre- 
sented itself before the French army, which marched 
in two bodies, separated by a considerable distance. 
The commander of the first division, named GeofTroy de 
Rancun, 2 had received orders from the king, who re- 
mained with the rear-guard, to halt on the summit of the 
steep, and there pitch the tents for the night. That 
Baron, unencumbered by baggage, easily accom- 
plished the ascent, and finding that the day's progress 
was considerably less than the usual extent of march, 
forgot the commands he had received, and advanced 
two or three miles beyond the spot specified. 

The king, with the lesser body of effective troops 
and the baggage, followed slowly up the mountain, 
the precipitous acclivity of which rendered the foot- 
ing of the horses dreadfully insecure, while im- 
mense masses of loose stone gave way at every step 
under the feet of the crusaders, 3 and hurried many 
down into a deep abyss, through which a roaring tor- 
rent was rushing onward towards the sea. Suddenly, 
as they were toiling up, the whole army of the Turks, 
who had remarked the separation of the division, 
and watched their moment too surely, appeared on 
the hill above. A tremendous shower of arrows in- 
stantly assailed the Christians. The confusion and 
dismay were beyond description : thousands fell head- 

1 Odo of Deuil always calls Otho, Bishop of Freysinglien, 
brother of the Emperor Conrad. He was, however, only a half- 
brother ; his relationship being by the mother's side. 

2 Will. Tyrens. lib. xvi. ; Odon de Deuil. 

3 Odon de Deuil 5 Will. Tyr. 



206 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



long at once down the precipice, thousands were killed 
by the masses of rock, which the hurry and agitation 
of those at the top hurled down upon those below ; 
while the Turks, charging furiously all who had nearly 
climbed to the summit, drove them back upon the 
heads of such as were ascending. 

Having concluded, 1 that his advance-guard had se- 
cured the ground above, Louis, with the cavalry of his 
division, had remained in the rear, to cover his army 
from any attack. The first news of the Turkish force 
being in presence, was gathered from the complete rout 
of the foot-soldiers, who had been mounting the hill, 
and who were now flying in every direction. The king 
instantly sent round his chaplain, Odon de Deuil, to 
seek for the other body under GeofTroy de Rancun, and 
to call it back to his aid ; while in the mean time he 
spurred forward with what cavalry he had, to repel the 
Turks and protect his infantry. Up so steep an ascent 
the horses could make but little progress, and the 
Moslems, finding that their arrows turned off from the 
steel coats of the knights, aimed at the chargers, which, 
often mortally wounded, rolled down the steep, carry- 
ing their riders along with them. Those knights who 
succeeded in freeing themselves from their dying steeds 
were instantly attacked by the Turks, who, with fearful 
odds on their side, left hardly a living man of all the 
Chivalry that fought that day. The king even, dis- 
mounted by the death of his horse, was surrounded 
before he could well rise ; but, catching the branches of 
a tree, he sprang upon a high insulated rock, where, 
armed with his sword alone, he defended himself, till the 
night falling, freed him from his enemies. His situation 
now would have been little less hazardous than it was 
before, had he not luckily encountered a part of the 
infantry who had remained with the baggage. He was 
thus enabled, with what troops he could rally, to make 

1 Odon de Deuil. 



A 



HISTOPvY OF CHIVALRY. 



207 



his way during the night to the advance-guard, which 
had, as yet, remained unattacked. Geoffroy de Rancun 
had nearly been sacrificed to the just resentment of 
the people, but the uncle of the king having been a 
participator in his fault, procured him pardon ; and 
the army, which was now reduced to a. state of greater 
discipline than before, by the Grand Master of the 
Templars, 1 who had accompanied it from Constanti- 
nople, arrived without much more loss at Attalia. 2 
Here the Greeks proved more dangerous enemies 
than the Turks, and every thing was done that human 
baseness and cunning could suggest, to plunder and 
destroy the unfortunate crusaders. 

Much discussion now took place concerning their 
further progress, and the difficulties before them 
rendered it necessary that a part of the host should 
proceed by sea to Antioch. The king at first deteiv 
mined that that part should be the pilgrims on foot; 
and that he himself with his Chivalry, would follow 
the path by land. The winter season, however, ap- 
proaching, the scanty number of vessels that could 
be procured, and the exorbitant price which the Greeks 
demanded for the passage of each man — being no less 
than four marks of silver 3 — rendered the transport 
of the foot impossible. Louis, therefore, eager to 
reach Jerusalem, distributed what money he could 
spare amongst the pilgrims, engaged at an enormous 
price a Greek escort and guide to conduct them by 
land to Antioch, left the Count of Flanders to com- 
mand them, and then took ship with the rest of his 
knights. The Count of Flanders soon found that the 
Greeks, having received their reward, refused to fulfil 
their agreement, and the impossibility of reaching 
Antioch without their aid being plain, he embarked 
and followed the king. 

The unhappy pilgrims, who remained cooped up 



1 Odon de Deuil. 2 William of Tyre. 3 - Odon de Deuil. 



208 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



beneath the walls, which they were not permitted 
to enter, on the one hand, and the Turkish army that 
watched them with unceasing vigilance, on the other, 
died, and were slaughtered by thousands. Some 
strove to force their passage to Antioch by land, and 
fell beneath the Moslem scimitar. Some cast them- 
selves upon the compassion of the treacherous Greeks, 
and were more brutally treated than even by their 
infidel enemies. So miserable at length became their 
condition, that the Turks themselves ceased to attack 
them, brought them provisions and pieces of money, 
and showed them that compassion which their fellow- 
Christians refused. Thus in the end, several hundreds 
attached themselves 1 to their generous enemies and 
were tempted to embrace the Moslem creed. The rest 
either became slaves to the Greeks, or died of pesti- 
lence and famine. 

In the meanwhile, Louis and his knights 2 arrived at 
Antioch, where they were received with the appearance 
of splendid hospitality by Raimond, the prince of that 
city, who was uncle of Eleonor, the wife of the French 
monarch. His hospitality , however, was of an interested 
nature: Antioch and Tripoli hung upon the skirts of the 
kingdom of Jerusalem as detached principalities, whose 
connexion with the chief country was vague and inse- 
cure. No sooner, therefore, did the news of the coming 
of the king of France reach the princes of those cities, 
than they instantly laid out a thousand plans for en- 
gaging Louis in extending the limits of their territories, 
before permitting him to proceed to Jerusalem. The 
Prince of Antioch assuredly, had the greatest claim 
upon the king, by his relationship to the queen ; 3 and he 
took every means of working on the husband, by in- 
gratiating himself with the wife. Eleonor was a woman 
of strong and violent passions, 4 and of debauched and 

1 Odon de Deuil. 2 William of Tyre ; Vertot. 

8 Gest. Ludovic. regis ; William of Tyre ; Vertot. 
4 Vertot, a learned man and a diligent investigator, speaks of 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



209 



libertine manners, and she made no scruple of in- 
triguing and caballing with her uncle to bend the king 
to his wishes. The Archbishop of Tyre, who was but 
little given to repeat a scandal, dwells with a tone of 
certainty upon the immoral life of the Queen of France, 
and says, she had even consented that her uncle 
should carry her off, after Louis had formally refused 
to second his efforts against Cesarea. 

However that may be, her conduct was a disgrace 
to the crusade; and Louis, in his letters to Suger, 
openly complained of her infidelity. 

The king resisted all entreaties and all threats, and, 
equally rejecting the suit of the Count of Tripoli, 1 he 
proceeded to Jerusalem, where the emperor Conrad, 
having passed by sea from Constantinople, had arrived 
before him. Here the whole of the princes were called 
to council ; and it was determined that, instead of 
endeavouring to retake Edessa, which had been the 
original object of the crusade, the troops of Jerusalem, 
joined to all that remained of the pilgrim armies, 
should attempt the siege of Damascus. The monarchs 
immediately took the field, supported by the knights 
of the Temple and St. John, who, in point of courage, 
equalled the Chivalry of any country, and, in disci- 

Eleonor in the following curious terms : " On pretend que cette 
princesse, peu scrupuleuse sur ses devoirs, et devenue eprise 
d'un jeune Turc baptise, appelle Saladin, nepouvait se resouclre 
a s'en separer, &c." These reports of course gave rise to many 
curious suppositions, especially when Richard Coeur de Lion, 
Eleonor's son by her second marriage, went to war in the Holy 
Land. On his return to France, Louis VII. instantly sought a 
plausible pretext for delivering himself from his unfaithful wife 
without causing the scandal of a public exposure of her conduct. 
A pretence of consanguinity within the forbidden degrees was 
soon established, and the marriage was annulled. After this 
Eleonor, who, in addition to beauty and wit, possessed in her 
own right the whole of Aquitain, speedily gave her hand to 
Henry II. of England, and in the end figured in the tragedy of 
Rosamond of Woodstock 
1 William of Tyre Vertot. 



210 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



pline, excelled them all. Nourhaddin and Saphaddin, 
the two sons of the famous Zenghi, threw what men 
they could suddenly collect, into Damascus, and 
hastened in person to raise as large a force as pos- 
sible to attack the Christian army. The crusaders 
advanced to the city, drove in the Turkish outposts 1 
that opposed them, and laid siege to the fortifications, 
which in a short time were so completely ruined, 
that Damascus could hold out no longer. And yet 
Damascus did not fall. Dissension, that destroying 
angel of great enterprises, was busy in the Christian 
camp. The possession of the still unconquered town 2 
was disputed amongst the leaders. Days and weeks 
passed in contests, and at length, when it was deter- 
mined that the prize should be given to the Count 
of Flanders, who had twice visited the Holy Land, the 
decision caused so much dissatisfaction, that all 
murmured and none acted. Each one suspected his 
companion ; dark reports and scandalous charges were 
mutually spread and countenanced; the Templars 
were accused of having received a bribe from the 
infidels; the European monarchs 3 were supposed to 
aim at the subjugation of Jerusalem; the conquerors 
were conquered by their doubts of each other ; and, 
retiring from the spot where they had all but tri- 
umphed, they attempted to storm the other side of 
the city, where the walls were as firm as a rock of 
adamant. 

Repenting of their folly, they soon were willing to 
return to their former ground, but the fortifications 
had been repaired, the town had received fresh supplies, 
and Saphaddin, Emir of Mousul, was marching to its 
relief. Only one plan was to be pursued. The siege 
was abandoned, and the leaders, 4 discontented with 

1 Gest. regis Ludov. VII. 2 Vertot. 

3 William of Tyre ; Col. script. Arab. ; Vertot. 

4 William of Tyre ; Fresingken, reb. gest. Fred. ; Gest. reg. 
L iido vie. VII. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



211 



themselves and with each other, retreated gloomily to 
Jerusalem. 

The Emperor of Germany set out immediately for 
Europe ; but Louis, who still hoped to find some op- 
portunity of redeeming his military fame, lingered 
for several months ; while Eleonor continued to sully 
scenes, whose memory is composed of all that is holy, 
with her impure amours. At length the pressing 
entreaties of Suger, induced the French monarch to 
return to his native land. There he found the au- 
thority he had confided to that great and excellent 
minister had been employed to the infinite benefit of 
his dominions — he found his finances increased, and 
order established in every department of the state ;* — 
and he found, also, that the minister was not only 
willing, but eager, to yield the reins of government 
to the hand from which he had received them. 
During the absence of the king, his brother, Robert 
of Dreux, who returned before him, had endeavoured 
to thwart the noble Abbot of St. Denis, and even to 
snatch the regency from him ; but Suger boldly called 
together a general assembly of the nobility of France, 
and intrusted his cause to their decision. The court 
met at Soissons, and unanimously supported the 
minister against his royal opponent ; after which he 
ruled, indeed, in peace ; but Robert strove by every 
means to poison the mind of the king against him; 
and it can be little doubted, that Louis, on his 
departure from Palestine, viewed the conduct of Suger 
with a very jealous eye. 

The effects of his government, however, and the 
frankness with which he resigned it, at once did away 
all suspicions. The expedition was now over, but yet 
one effort more was to be made, before we can con- 
sider the second crusade as absolutely terminated. 

1 Guil. Monach. in vit. Suger. Ab. Sanct. Dion. ; Gest. res, 
Lud. VIL 

r 2 



212 



HISTORY OF CHI V ALU Y. 



Suger had opposed the journey of the king to the 
Holy Land, but he was not in the least wanting in 
zeal, or compassionate enthusiasm in favour of his 
brethren of the east. 1 Any thing but the absence of 
a monarch from his unquiet dominions, he would 
have considered as a small sacrifice towards the sup- 
port of the kingdom of Jerusalem ; and now, at 
seventy years, he proposed to raise an army at his 
own expense, and to finish his days in Palestine. 
His preparations were carried on with an ardour, an 
activity, an intelligence, which would have been won- 
derful even in a man at his prime; but, in the midst 
of his designs, he was seized with a slow fever, which 
soon showed him that his end was near. He saw the 
approach of death with firmness ; and, during the 
four months that preceded his decease, he failed not 
from the bed of sickness to continue all his orders for 
the expedition, which could no longer bring living 
glory to himself. He named the chief whom he 
thought most worthy to lead it; he bestowed upon 
him all the treasures he had collected for the purpose; 
he gave him full instructions for his conduct, and 
he made him swear upon the cross to fulfil his in- 
tentions. Having done this, the Abbot of St. Denis 
waited calmly the approach of that hour which was 
to separate him from the living ; and died, leaving no 
one like him in Europe. 

With his life appears to have ended the second 
crusade, which, with fewer obstacles and greater 
facilities than the first, produced little but disgrace 
and sorrow to all by whom it was accompanied. 2 

1 Guil. Monach. in vit. Sug. 

2 All the writers of that day attempt to excuse St. Bernard for 
having preached a crusade which had so unfortunate a conclu- 
sion. The principles upon which they do so, are 'somewhat 
curious. The Bishop of Freysinghen declares that it was the 
vice of the crusaders which called upon their heads the wrath of 
Heaven ; and, to reconcile this fact with the spirit of prophecy 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



213 



which elsewhere he attributes to the Abbot of Clairvaux, declares 
that prophets are not always able to prophecy. Fresing. de 
rebus gestis Fred. Imperat. GeofFroy of Clairvaux, who was a 
contemporary and wrote part of the Life of St. Bernard, would 
fain prove that the crusade could not be called unfortunate, 
since, though it did not at all help the Holy Land, it served to 
people heaven with martyrs. 



214 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



CHAPTER XI. 



PROGRESS OF SOCIETY— THE RISE OF POETRY IN MODERN EUROPE— TROUBA- 
DOURS— TROUVERES— VARIOUS POETICAL COMPOSITIONS— EFFECT OF POETRY 
UPON CHIVALRY — EFFECT OF THE CRUSADES ON SOCIETY — STATE OF PA- 
LESTINE AFTER THE SECOND CRUSADE — CESSION OF EDESSA TO THE 
EMPEROR MANUEL COMNENUS— EDESSA COMPLETELY SUBJECTED BY THE 
TURKS— ASCALON TAKEN BY THE CHRISTIANS— STATE OF EGYPT UNDER 
THE LAST CALIFS OF THE F ATI MITE RACE — THE LATINS AND THE ATA- 
BECKS BOTH DESIGN THE CONQUEST OF EGYPT— STRUGGLES FOR THAT 
COUNTRY— RISE OF SALADIN— DISPUTES AMONG THE LATINS CONCERNING 
THE SUCCESSION OF THE CROWN— GUY OF LUSIGNAN CROWNED— SALADIN 
INVADES PALESTINE— BATTLE OF TIBERIAS— FALL OF JERUSALEM— CON- 
QUEST OF ALL PALESTINE— SOME INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSES OF THE 
LATIN OVERTHROW. 

Before proceeding to trace the events which 
occurred in the Holy Land, between the second and 
third crusades, it may be as well to keep our eyes upon 
Europe for a few moments, and to remark the advance 
of society towards civilization. Prior to the period of 
the first expedition to Palestine, Germany had been oc- 
cupied alone in struggling against the papal authority, 
and in fighting for dominions in Italy, the limits of 
which were always sufficiently vague to admit of dis- 
putes and aggressions on all parts. Apulia, and the 
southern portion of Italy, had been subjected, as we have 
seen, by the Normans ; and the rest of that country, 
with the exception of some small republican cities, was 
divided into feudal baronies, the right of homage over 
which was very uncertain. Engaged in private wars 
and feuds, where personal interest was the sole object, 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



215 



unmixed with any refining principle, the Chivalry of 
Italy made but small progress. From time to time a 
great and distinguished chief started up, and dignified 
his country ; but the general feeling of knightly zeal 
was not extended far in Italy, or was wasted in the 
petty purposes of confined and unimportant struggles. 
In Germany also Chivalry advanced but little. There 
was much dignified firmness in the character of the 
people ; and — under the walls of Damascus — in the 
wars with the pope, and with the Norman possessors 
of Calabria — the German knights evinced that in the 
battle-field none were more daring, more powerful, or 
more resolute ; but we find few instances where en- 
thusiasm was mingled with valour, and where the 
ardour of chivalric devotion was joined to the bold 
courage of the Teutonic warrior. In Spain the spirit 
was at its height ; but Spain had her own crusades ; 
and it was quite enough for the swords of her gallant 
band of knights to free their native land, inch by 
inch, from her Saracen invaders. Military orders 1 
were there instituted in the middle of the twelfth 
century ; and the knights of Calatrava and St. James 
might challenge the world to produce a more chival- 
rous race than themselves ; still the object of all their 
endeavours was the freedom of their native country 
from the yoke of the Moors, and they engaged but 
little in any of those great expeditions which occupied 
the attention and interest of the world. It is to 
France, then, and to England, under the dominion of 
its Norman monarchs, that we must turn our eyes ; 
and here, during the course of the twelfth century, 
we shall find great and extraordinary progress. 

Previous to the epoch of the crusades, France, 
though acknowledging one king, had consisted of 
various nations, whose manners, habits, and languages 
differed in the most essential points. 2 The Provencal 

1 Existing orders of knighthood. * Fulcher $ Raoul Glaber. 



216 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



was as opposite a being to the Frank of that day, 
as the Italian is now to the Russian. The Norman 
and the Breton also, descended from distinct origins, 
and in most cases these separate tribes hated each 
other with no slight share of enmity. 

The character of the Norman was in all times 
enterprising, wandering, cunning, and selfish; that 
of the Breton, or Armorican, savage, ferocious, dar- 
ing, and implacable; but imaginative in the highest 
degree, as well as superstitious. The Provencal was 
light, avaricious, keen, active, and sensual ; the Frank, 
bold, hardy, persevering, but vain, insolent, and 
thoughtless. 1 Distinctive character lies more gene- 
rally in men's faults than their virtues; and thus, 
all these different races possessed the same higher 
qualities in common. They were brave to a pro- 
digy ; energetic, talented, enthusiastic; but during the 
eleventh, and the beginning of the twelfth centuries, 
the rude state of society in which Chivalry had arisen, 
continued to affect it still. The first crusade, how- 
ever, gave an impulse to all those countries that joined 
in it, which tended infinitely to civilize Europe, by 
uniting nations and tribes, which had long been sepa- 
rated by different interests, in one great enterprise, 
wherein community of object, and community of dan- 
ger, necessarily harmonized many previously discord- 
ant feelings, and did away many old animosities, by 
the strong power of mutual assistance and mutual 
endeavour. The babel of languages, which Fulcher 
describes in the Christian camp, before long began 
to form itself into two more general tongues. Latin, 
notwithstanding all the support it received in the 
court, in the church, and in the schools, was soon 
confined to the cloister; and the langue d'oc, or Pro- 
vencal, became the common language of all the pro- 
vinces on the southern side of the Loire, while the 

1 Robert j Fulcher; Raimond d'Agiles, 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



217 



langue aVoil only was spoken in the north of France. 
The manners and habits of the people, too, were gra- 
dually shaded into each other ; the distinctions became 
less defined : the Provencal no longer looked upon the 
Breton as a savage ; and the Frank no longer classed 
the Provencal with the ape. A thousand alliances 
were formed between individuals of different tribes, 
and the hand of kindred smoothed away the remain- 
ing asperities of national prejudice. Such assimila- 
tions tend of course to calm and mollify the mind of 
man, so that the general character of the country be- 
came of a less rude and ferocious nature. At this 
time, too, sprang up that greatest of all the softeners 
of the human heart, poetry, and immense was the 
change it wrought in the manners and deportment of 
that class which constituted the society of the twelfth 
century. The poetry of that age bore as distinct and 
clear a stamp of the epoch to which it belonged, as 
any that the world ever produced ; and it is absurd to 
trace to an earlier day the origin of a kind of poesy 
which was founded upon Chivalry alone, and reflected 
nothing but the objects of a chivalrous society. 

It is little important which of the two tongues of 
France first boasted a national poet, and equally 
unimportant which gave birth to the most excellent 
poetry. The langue (Toe was the most mellifluous; the 
langue d 'oil was the most forcible ; but neither brought 
forth any thing but the tales, the songs, the satires, 
the ballads of Chivalry. 

It is more than probable that some musical ear in 
Provence, first applied to his own language the melody 
of regularly arranged syllables, and the jingle of rhyme. 
No sooner was this done than the passion spread to 
all classes. Chivalrous love and chivalrous warfare 
furnished subjects in plenty ; and the gai savoir, 
the biau parler, became the favourite relaxation of 
those very men who wielded the lance and sword in 
the battle-field. The Troubadours were multiplied to 



218 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



infinity ; the language lent itself almost spontaneously 
to versification; and kings, warriors, and ladies, as 
well as the professed poets, occasionally practised the 
new and captivating art, which at once increased 
chivalrous enthusiasm, by spreading and perpetuating 
the fame of noble deeds, and softened the manners of 
the age, by the influence of sweet sounds and intellec- 
tual exercises. The songs themselves soon became 
as various as those who composed them, and were 
divided into Sirventes, Tensons, Pastourelles, and 
Nouvelles, or Contes. 1 The Conte, or tale in verse, 
needs no description, and the nature of the Pastourelie 
also is self-evident. The Sirvente deserves more par- 
ticular notice. It was in fact a satire, of the most 
biting and lively character ; in which wit and poetry 
were not used to cover or to temper the reproba- 
tion of either individual or general vice, but rather, 
on the contrary, to give point and energy to invec- 
tive. The keen bitterness of the Troubadours spared 
neither rank nor caste ; kings, and nobles, and priests, 
all equally underwent the lash of their wit ; and it is 
from these very sirventes that we gain a clear insight 
into many of the customs and manners of that day, 
as well as into many, too many, scenes of grossness 
and immorality, from which we would fain believe that 
Chivalry was free. The Tensons, or J eux partis, were 
dialogues between two persons on some subject of 
love or chivalry, and in general show far more subtilty 
than poetical feeling. To these were added occasional 
epistles in verse ; and Plaintes, or lamentations, in 
which the death or misfortune of a friend was mourned 
with a touching simplicity that has since been too 
often imitated with very ineffective art. Other com- 
positions, such as the Aubade and the Serenade, were 
in use, the difference of which, from the common lay, 

1 Raynouard, Poesies des Troubadours ; Millot, Hist, des 
Troubadours ; Le Grand d'Aussi Fabliaux. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



219 



consisted merely in their metrical construction ; the 
word alba, being always repeated at the end of each 
stanza of the aubade, and the word ser, continually 
terminating each division of the serenade. 1 Such was 
the poesy of the Langue dvc and the Troubadours.- ...... 

The Langue d'oil had also its poets, the Trouveres, 
and its poesy, which differed totally from that of the 
Langue d'oc. The art was here more ambitious than 
with the Provencals ; and we find, amongst the first 
productions of the Trouveres, long and complex poems, 
which would fain deserve the name of Epics. The 
first of these, both in date and importance, is the 
Norman romance of Rou, which bears a considerable 
resemblance, in its object and manner, to the frag- 
ments of old Scandinavian poetry which have come 
down to us, but has a continuous and uniform subject, 
and strong attempts at unity of design. The romance 
of the Rose also, commenced by Guillaume de Lorris, 2 
and concluded by Jean de Meung, is one of the most 
extraordinary compositions that the world ever pro- 
duced, and stands perfectly alone — an allegory in 
twenty- two thousand verses ! Various subjects, quite 
irrelevant to the object of the song, are introduced in 
its course, and the poet mingles his tale with satire 
and sarcasm, which were fully as often misdirected 
as deserved. Besides these, were all the famous 
romances of Chivalry which probably originated in 
the fabulous, but interesting story of Charlemagne's 
visit to the Holy Land, falsely attributed to the arch- 
bishop Turpin. This work bears internal evidence 
of having been written after the first crusade, and, we 
have reason to suppose was translated into French, 3 
from the Latin manuscript of some monkish author. 

In all the romances of the Round Table, we trace 
the end of the twelfth, and the beginning of the 
thirteenth century. They could not have been com- 



1 Raynouard. 2 Oeuvres de Marot. 3 Fauchet. 



220 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



posed prior to that epoch ; for we find many customs 
and objects mentioned, which were not known at an 
earlier period ; and it is probable, from various cir- 
cumstances, that they are not referrible to a later age. 
Besides these, multitudes of Fabliaux 1 have descended 
to us from the Trouveres, and in this sort of composi- 
tion it is but fair to say, we find more originality, 
variety, and strength, though less sweetness and less 
enthusiasm, than amongst the compositions of the 
Troubadours. At this period also we meet with an insti- 
tution in Provence, of which I shall speak but slightly, 
from many motives, though undoubtedly it had a 
great influence upon the character of Chivalry : I 
mean the Court of Love, as it was called, where causes 
concerning that passion were tried and j udged as se- 
riously, as if feelings could be submitted to a tribunal. 
Could that be the case, the object of such a court 
should certainly be very different from that of the 
Provencal Court of Love, the effect of which was any 
thing but to promote morality. It tended, however, 
with every thing else, to soften the manners of the 
country, though all the mad absurdities to which it 
gave rise were a scandal and a disgrace to Europe. 

Besides all these causes of mitigation, the constant 
journeys of the people of Europe to the Holy Land 
taught them gradually the customs of other nations ; 
and in that age there was much good to be learned 
by a frequent intercourse with foreigners. The great 
want of Europe was civilization ; the vices of the 
day were pretty equally spread through all coun- 
tries, and the very circumstance of mingling with 
men of different habits and thoughts, promoted the 
end to be desired, without bringing any great import- 
ation of foreign follies or crimes. Many useful arts, 
and many sciences, previously unknown, were also ob- 
tained from the Saracens themselves ; and though in 



Le Grand d'Aussi. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



221 



the crusades, Europe sacrificed a host of her noblest 
knights, and spent immense treasures and energies ; 
yet she derived, notwithstanding, no small benefit from 
her communication with Palestine. 

The state of that country in the mean while was every- 
day becoming more and more precarious. The nations 
by whom it was surrounded were improving in military 
discipline, in political knowledge, and in the science 
of timing and combining their efforts, while the Chris- 
tians were losing ground in every thing but courage. 
The military orders of the Temple and St. John were 
the bulwarks of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem ; but 
at the same time, by their pride, their disputes, and 
their ambition, they did nearly as much to undermine 
its strength at home, as they did to support it with 
their swords in the field of battle. 

It would be endless to trace all the events in Pa- 
lestine which brought about the third crusade, and to 
investigate minutely the causes which worked out the 
ruin of the Christian dominion in the Holy Land. 
The simple facts must be enough in this place. 

Although the crusade, which went forth for the ex- 
press purpose of delivering Edessa, never even at- 
tempted that object, Joscelyn of Courtenay did not 
neglect to struggle for his lost territory, and gained 
some splendid successes over the infidels, which were 
all in turn reversed, by his capture and death in 
prison. 1 After his failure, the difficulty of keeping 
Edessa was so apparent, that the monarch of Jeru- 
salem 2 determined to yield it to the Emperor Manuel 
Comnenus, on condition of his defending it against 
the Turks. Manuel, therefore, received the princi- 
pality ; but the weak and cowardly Greeks soon 
lost what the valiant Franks could not maintain ; 
and before a year was over, Nourhaddin the Great, 

1 Bernard, the Treasurer ; James of Vitry ; William of Tyre. 

2 William of Tyre ; Bernard. 



222 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



Sultaun of Aleppo,was in full possession of Edessa and 
all its dependences. Baldwin III., however, who 
had cast off the follies of his youth, and now dis- 
played as great qualities as any of his race, more 
than compensated for the loss of that principality by 
the capture of Ascalon. 1 

After this great success, eight years of varied war- 
fare followed ; and at the end of that period Baldwin 
died, leaving behind him the character of one of 
the noblest of the Latin kings. His brother Almeric 
ascended the vacant throne, but with talents infinitely 
inferior, and a mind in no degree calculated to cope 
w r ith the great and grasping genius of Nourhaddin, 
who combined, in rare union, the qualities of an 
ambitious and politic monarch, with the character of 
a liberal, frugal, and unostentatious man. 

Almeric w^as ambitious also ; but his avarice w r as 
always a check on his ambition, and he suffered him- 
self often to be bribed, where he might have conquered. 
At this time 2 the Fatimite califs of Egypt, had fallen 
into a state of nonentity. The country was governed 
by a vizier, and the high office was struggled lor, by 
a succession of military adventurers. 

Such a state of things awakened the attention of the 
monarchs of Jerusalem and Aleppo, and each resolved 
to make himself master of Egypt. An opportunity 
soon presented itself. Shawer, the Vizier of Egypt,was 
expelled from his post by Dargham, a soldier of for- 
tune. The disgraced vizier fled to the court of Nour- 
haddin, and prayed for assistance against the usurper. 
Nourhaddin willingly granted a request, which 
yielded the means of sending his troops into Egypt; 
and two Curdish refugees, uncle and nephew, who 
had risen high in his army, 3 under the names of Assad 
Eddyn Chyrkouh, and Salah Eddyn or Saladin, were 



1 William of Tyre. 3 Cardinal of Vitry : William of Tyre. 
3 *Ibid. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



223 



despatched with considerable forces to expel Dargham, 
and to re-establish Shawer . Dargham saw the gathering 
storm, and to shelter himself from its fury called the 
Christians from Palestine to his aid. But the move- 
ments of the Moslems were more rapid than those of 
Almeric ; and, before the King of Jerusalem could 
reach Cairo, Chyrkouh had given battle to Dargham, 
and defeated and killed him, and Shawer was re- 
possessed of the authority he had lost. Shawer soon 
found that his power was fully as much in danger from 
his allies, as it had been from his enemies ; and, to 
resist the Turks whom he had brought into Egypt, 
he was obliged to enter into a treaty with the Chris- 
tians. Almeric marched immediately to Cairo, and 
after a multitude of manoeuvres and skirmishes, forced 
Chyrkouh and Saladin to quit the country ; display- 
ing, through the whole of this war, more scientific 
generalship, than was at all usual in that age. No 
sooner were the Turks gone, than the Latin monarch* 
broke his truce with the Egyptians, and Shawer was 
once more obliged to apply to Nourhaddin. Chyrkouh 
again advanced into the Fatimite dominions with in- 
creased forces, obliged Almeric to retreat with great 
loss, took possession of Cairo, beheaded Shawer, and 
installed himself in the office of Vizier to Adhad, Calif 
of Egypt, though he still retained the title of lieu- 
tenant for Nourhaddin of Aleppo. Not long after 
these successes, Chyrkouh died, and Nourhaddin, 
doubtful of the fidelity of the Turkish emirs, gave 
the vacant post to Saladin, the nephew of the late 
vizier ; in which choice he was as much guided by the 
apparently reckless and pleasure-seeking despotism 
of the young Curdish chief, as by the military skill 
he had shown when forced unwillingly into action. 
Saladin, however, was scarcely invested with supreme 
power in Egypt, when his real character appeared 



1 Bernard ; William of Tyre. 



224 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



He cast from him the follies with which he had veiled 
his great and daring mind ; and, by means of the im- 
mense treasures placed at his command, soon bound 
to his interests many who had been at first disgusted 
by his unexpected elevation. The Califs of Egypt had 
been always considered as schismatics by the Califs of 
Bagdat, to whom Nourhaddin still affected homage ; 
and Saladin was forthwith instructed to declare the 
Fatimite dynasty at an end, and to re-establish in 
Egypt the nominal dominion of the Abassides. This 
was easily accomplished ; Adhad, the calif, either 
died before the revolution was completed, or was 
strangled in the bath ; the people little cared under 
whose yoke they laboured. The children of the late 
calif were confined in the Haaram ; and Motshadi, 
Calif of Bagdat, was prayed for as God's Vicar on 
Earth. 

Saladin's ambitious projects became every day more 
and more apparent, and Nourhaddin was not blind to 
the conduct of his officer. Submission quieted his 
suspicions for a time ; and, though repeated causes 
for fresh jealousy arose, he was obliged to forego 
marching into Egypt in person, as he undoubtedly 
intended, till death put a stop to all his schemes. No 
sooner was Nourhaddin dead, than Almeric attacked 
his widow at Paneas, 1 and Saladin began to encroach 
upon other parts of his territories : but Saladin was 
the only gainer by the death of the great Sultaun, and 
made himself master, by various means, of the whole 
of his Syrian dominions, while internal dissensions and 
changes in the government of Palestine, gradually 
weakened every bulwark of the Latin throne. Almeric 2 
died in returning from Paneas, and his son, Baldwin 
IV., surnamed the Leper, succeeded him. Had his 

1 William of Tyre; James of Vitry ; Guillelm de Nangis ; 
Chron. ann. 1174. 

2 William of Tyre. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



225 



corporeal powers been equal to the task of royalty, it 
is probable that Baldwin would have been a far greater 
monarch than his father; but, after many struggles 
for activity, he found that disease incapacitated him 
for energetic rule, and he intrusted the care of the 
state to Guy of Lusignan, who had married his sister 
Sybilla, widow of the Marquis of Montferrat, to whom 
she had borne one son. 1 

Guy of Lusignan soon showed himself unworthy of 
the charge, and Baldwin, 2 resuming the government, 
endeavoured to establish it in such a form, that it 
might uphold itself after his death, which he felt to 
be approaching. With this view he offered the ad- 
ministration to the Count of Tripoli, 3 during the 
minority of his sister's child ; but the Count refused 
to accept it, except under condition that the charge 
of the young prince should be given to Joscelyn de 
Courtenay, the surviving branch of the Courtenay's of 
Edessa, and son of the unhappy count who died in a 
Saracen prison. He also stipulated that the castles 
and fortresses of the kingdom should be garrisoned 
by the Hospitallers and Templars ; and that in case 
the boy should die in his youth, the question of suc- 
cession should be determined by the Pope, the Empe- 
ror of Germany, the King of France, and the King of 
England. 4 Not many years after this, the king died, 
and Baldwin V. succeeded, but his death followed 
immediately upon his accession. Without abiding bv 
the dispositions of the former monarch, no sooner was 

1 Jacob. Vitr. 

2 Bernard the Treasurer says, that the monarch wished to 
annul the marriage between his sister and Guy. " Si grans haine 
estoit entre le roy et le cuens de Jaffe que chascun jor cressoit 
plus et plus et jusque a tant estoit la chose venue que le roy 
queroit achaison par quoy il peut desevrer tot apertement le 
mariage qui iert entre lui et sa seror." 

3 William of Tyre ; Bernard the Treasurer ; James of Vitry. 

4 Bernard the Treasurer ; James of Vitry. 

Q 



226 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



the young king dead, than the Grand Master of the 
Temple, Renauld of Chatillon, Count of Karac, and 
the Patriarch of Jerusalem, joined to raise Sybilla to 
the throne, in spite of the formal protest of all the 
other barons and the Grand Master of the Hospital. 
The gates of Jerusalem were shut, 1 and it was only 
by sending one of their followers, disguised as a 
monk, that the nobles assembled with the Count of 
Tripoli at Naplousa could gain any tidings of what 
passed. Sybilla was crowned in form, and then the 
patriarch, pointing to the other crown which lay upon 
the altar, told her that it was hers to dispose of, on 
which she immediately placed it on the head of Guy 
of Lusignan. 2 After this, some of the barons refused 
to do homage to the new king, and some absented them- 
selves from his court; but the imminent danger in which 
the country was placed, at length brought back a 
degree of concord, when concord could no longer avail. 

Saladin had by this time made himself master of all 
Syria ; 3 and had not only consolidated into one great 
monarchy dominions, which for ages had been separated 
into petty states ; but also, by the incessant application 
of a powerful and expansive mind, he had drawn forth 
and brought into action, many latent but valuable re- 
sources which had previously been unknown or for- 
gotten. He had taught the whole interests of his 
people to centre in his own person, and he now deter- 
mined to direct their energies to one great and 
important enterprise. That enterprise was the con- 
quest of Palestine, and with an army of fifty thou- 
sand horse, and near two hundred thousand foot, he 
advanced towards Jerusalem, and laid siege to 
Tiberias. 4 Within the w T alls of that fortress the 
Countess of Tripoli held out against the Saracens, 

1 Bernard the Treasurer. 2 Rog. of Hovedon. 

3 William of Tyre ; William de Nangis. 

4 Bernard • William of Nangis. 



i 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY, 



227 



while her husband joined Guy of Lusignan, and 
brought his forces to the field in defence of the Holy 
Land. 

The conduct of the Count of Tripoli is very obscure. 1 
That from time to time he had treated with the Saracens 
is evident, and almost every European authority, ex- 
cept Mills, accuses him of having, in this instance, 
betrayed his countrymen into the hands of the infidels. 
Whether with or against his advice matters little to 
the general result — the Christians marched down to 
meet Saladin at Tiberias. 2 Beyond doubt it was by 
the counsel of the Count of Tripoli that they pitched 
their tents in a spot where no water was to be found. 
The troops suffered dreadfully from thirst ; and in the 
morning, when they advanced to attack Saladin in 
the cool of the dawn, the wary monarch retired before 
them, resolved not to give them battle till the heat of 
the risen sun had added to their fatigues. To increase 
the suffocating warmth of a Syrian summer's day, he 
set fire to the low bushes and shrubs which surrounded 
the Christian camp, so that when the battle did 
begin, the Latin forces were quite overcome with 
weariness and drought. The contest raged throughout 
the day, the Christians fighting to reach the wells 
which lay behind the Saracen power, 3 but in vain ; 
and night fell, leaving the strife still doubtful. The 
next morning the Latins and Turks again mixed in 
combat. The Count of Tripoli 4 forced his way through 
the Saracens, and escaped unhurt ; but the scimitars 
of the Moslems mowed down whole ranks of the 
Christians, for their immense superiority of numbers 
allowed them to surround the height upon which the 
king and the chief of his army were stationed, and to 
wage the warfare at once against every face of the 
Latin host. Such a conflict could not long endure. 

1 Will. Neub. 2 Bernard. 3 William of Nangis. 
4 Bernard the Treasure; William o f Nangis. 

Q 2 



228 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



Multitudes of the infidels fell, but their loss was 
nothing in proportion to their number, when com- 
pared with that which their adversaries underwent. 

The Grand Master of the Hospital 1 alone clove his 
way from the field of battle, after having staid till 
victory had settled upon the Paynim banners. He 
reached Ascalon that night, but died on the following 
day of the wounds he had received. The King — 
Renault de Chatillon, Count of Karac, who had so 
often broken faith with the Moslems — and the Grand 
Master of the Temple, whose whole order was in 
abhorrence amongst the Mussulmans — were taken 
alive and carried prisoners to the tent of Saladin. 
That monarch remained for some time on the field, 
giving orders that the knights of St. John' 2 and those 
of the Temple, who had been captured, should in- 
stantly embrace Islamism, or undergo the fate of the 
scimitar. A thousand acts of cruelty and aggression 
on their part, had given cause to such deadly hatred; 
but at the hour of death not one knight could be 
brought to renounce his creed ; and they died with 
that calm resolution which is in itself a glory. After 
this bloody consummation of his victory, Saladin 
entered the tent where Lusignan and his companions 
expected a similar fate : but Saladin, thirsty himself, 
called for iced sherbet, and having drank, handed 
the cup to the fallen monarch, a sure pledge that his 
life was secure. Lusignan in turn passed it to Renaul 
of Chatillon, 3 but the Sultaun starting up, exclaimed, 
" No hospitality for the breaker of all engagements !" 4 
and before Chatillon could drink, with one blow of 
his scimitar, Saladin severed his head from his body. 

1 Vertot. 2 Rog. of Hovedon ; William of Nangis. 

3 William of Nangis ; Bernard the Treasurer. 

4 Some writers state that Saladin proposed to Chatillon to 
abjure Christianity, which he boldly refused : but others do not 
mention the circumstance, and the act of Saladin seems to me to 
laave been more one of hasty passion than of deliberation. 



1 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



229 



Tiberias surrendered immediately. City after city 
now fell into the power of the victor, and at length, 
after an obstinate defence, Jerusalem once more was 
trodden by the Moslems. 1 But the conduct of the 
infidel Sultaun on this occasion shames the cruelty of 
the crusaders. When the people could hold out no 
longer, Saladin, who had at first offered the most ad- 
vantageous terms, insisted that the city should now 
throw itself upon his mercy. 

He then agreed upon a moderate ransom for the 
prisoners, and promised to let each man carry forth 
his goods without impediment. When this was done, 
with extraordinary care he saw that neither insult nor 
injury should be offered to the Christians, and, having 
taken possession of the town, he placed a guard at one 
of the gates to receive the ransom of the inhabitants 
as they passed out. Nevertheless, when the whole 
wealth which could be collected in the town had been 
paid down, an immense number of the poorer Christians 
remained unredeemed. These were destined to be 
slaves ; but Bernard the Treasurer relates, that Saif 
Eddyn, the brother of the monarch, begged the liberty 
of one thousand of these, and that about the same 
number were delivered at the prayer of the Patriarch 
and of Balean de Ibelyn, 2 who had commanded in the 
place, and communicated with the Curdish monarch on 
its surrender. After this Saladin declared that his 
Brother, the Patriarch, and Ibelyn, had done their 
alms, and that now he would do his alms also ; on 
which he caused it to be proclaimed through the city, 3 
that all the poor people who could give no ransom 
might go forth in safety by the gate of St. Lazarus; 
but he ordered that if any attempted to take advantage 
of this permission, who really could pay for their deli- 

1 Bernard. 

2 Bernard the Treasurer ; Continuation of William of Tyre, 

3 William of Nangis. 



230 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



verance, they should be instantly seized and cast into 
prison. Many of the nobler prisoners also he freed 
at the entreaty of the Christian ladies ; and in his 
whole conduct he showed himself as moderate in con- 
quest as he was great in battle. 

Antioch and the neighbouring towns, as well as the 
greater part of the county of Tripoli, 1 were soon re- 
duced to the Saracen yoke, and with the exception of 
Tyre, which was defended by the gallant Conrad, 
Marquis of Montferrat, the whole of Palestine be- 
came subject to the victor of Tiberias. 

Such was the sudden and disastrous termination of 
the Christian dominion in the Holy Land ; 2 a misfor- 
tune which all the contemporary writers attribute to 
the vices of the inhabitants. Without presuming to 
assign it as they do, to the special wrath of Heaven, we 
may nevertheless believe that the gross and scandalous 
crimes of the people of Jerusalem greatly accelerated 
its return to the Moslem domination. After the suc- 
cesses of the first crusade, the refuse of European po- 
pulations poured into Palestine in hopes of gain, and 
brought all their vices to acid to the stock of those that 
the country already possessed. The clergy were as 
licentious as the laity, the chiefs as immoral as the 
people. Intestine quarrels are sure to follow upon 
general crime ; and unbridled passions work as much 
harm to the society in which they are tolerated, as to 
the individuals on whom they are exercised. The 
Latins of Palestine retained their courage, it is true ; 
but they knew no confidence in each other. Virtue, the 
great bond of union, subsisted not amongst them, and 
each one caballed, intrigued, and strove against his 
neighbour. The ambition of the two great military 
orders bred continual hatred and opposition, 3 and 
the discord that existed between the Hospitallers and 

1 Bernard. 2 James of Vitry ; Bernard ; William of Tyre. 
8 Bernard; Albert. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



231 



the clergy, caused another breach in the harmony of 
the state. 

During the time that the kingdom of Jerusalem 
was thus dividing itself, by passions and vices, into 
ruinous factions and enfeebled bodies, Saladin and 
those that preceded him were bending all their energies 
to consolidate their power and extend their dominion. 
Zenghi was a great warrior, Nourhaddin a great mo- 
narch, 1 and Saladin added to the high qualities of 
both, not only a degree of civilization in his own per- 
son which neither had known, but what was still more, 
the spirit of civilization in his heart. 

Saladin was as superior to any of the princes of 
Palestine in mind, as he was in territory ; and with 
clear and general views of policy, keenness and strength 
of perception in difficulties, consummate skill in war, 
innumerable forces, and the hearts of his soldiers, it 
was impossible that he should not conquer. There 
can be no doubt that the Latins were a more powerful 
and vigorous race of men than the Turks. The event 
of every combat evinced it; and even in their defeats, 
they almost always left more dead upon the field 
of the enemy's forces, than of their own. Their 
armour, too, was weightier, 2 and their horses heavier 
and more overpowering in the charge. But the Turk- 
ish horseman and the Turkish horse were more active 
and more capable of bearing long fatigue, privation, 
and heat, than the European ; and this in some degree 
made up for the slighter form and lighter arms of the 
Saracen. 

In war, also, as a science, the Turks had improved 
more than the Christians. We find that the troops 
of Saladin employed means in their sieges that they 
had acquired from the Crusaders ; that they stood 
firmly the charge of the cavalry, that they now fought 
hand to hand with the mailed warriors of Europe, and 



1 William of Tyre. 2 Albert of Aix ; Fulcher ; Robert. 



232 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



mixed all the modes of chivalrous warfare with those 
they had practised before. 

We do not perceive, however, that the Latins adopted 
their activity or their skill with the bow ; and at the 
same time it must be remarked, that the armies of the 
Moslem fought as a whole, under the absolute com- 
mand of one chief ; while the Christians, divided in the 
battle as in the time of peace, were broken into sepa- 
rate corps under feudal leaders, who each consulted 
his own will, fully as much as that of his sovereign. 

Many other causes might be traced for the Christian 
fall and the Mussulman triumph ; but perhaps more has 
been already said than was required. Whatever were 
the causes the result was the same — Jerusalem was 
taken by the Moslem and consternation spread through 
Christendom. 



History or chivalry. 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE NEWS OF THE FATE OF PALESTINE REACHES EUROPE — THE ARCHBISHOP OF 
TYRE COMES TO SEEK FOR AID— ASSISTANCE GRANTED BY WILLIAM THE 
GOOD, OF SICILY— DEATH OF URBAN, FROM GRIEF AT THE LOSS OF JERU- 
SALEM—GREGORY VIII. PROMOTES A CRUSADE— EXPEDITION OF FREDERIC, 
EMPEROR OF GERMANY— HIS SUCCESSES— HIS DEATH— STATE OF EUROPE— 
CRUSADE PROMOTED BY THE TROUBADOURS— PHILIP AUGUSTUS AND HENRY 
II. TAKE THE CROSS— LAWS ENACTED— SALADIN'S TENTH— WAR RENEWED— 
DEATH OF HENRY II.— ACCESSION OF RICHARD COJUR DE LION— THE 
CRUSADE— PHILIP S MARCH— RICHARD'S MARCH— AFFAIRS OF SICILY — 
QUARRELS BETWEEN THE MONARCHS— PHILIP GOES TO ACRE— RICHARD 
SUBDUES CYPRUS — ARRIVES AT ACRE— SIEGE AND TAKING OF ACRE— FRESH 
DISPUTES— PHILIP AUGUSTUS RETURNS TO EUROPE— RICHARD MARCHES ON — 
BATTLE OF AZOTUS— HEROISM OF RICHARD— UNSTEADY COUNCILS— THE 
ENTERPRISE ABANDONED. 

We have seen the solicitations of the church, and 
the eloquence of two extraordinary men, produce the 
first and second crusades; but many other incitements 
were added to clerical exhortations before the invete- 
rate enmity of the French and English could be suffi- 
ciently calmed, to permit of any thing like a united 
expedition for the recovery of the Holy Land. The 
Italian merchants, 1 who at that time carried on the 
commerce of the world, were the first that brought to 
Europe the terrible news of the battle of Tiberias, the 
capture of Jerusalem, and the fall of Palestine : but 

1 There is a letter in Hovedon from a Templar to Henry II., 
giving an account of the state of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, 
dated 1179. 



234 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



very soon after, William of Tyre, 1 the noble historian 
of the crusades, set out in person to demand assistance 
in behalf of his afflicted country from all the princes 
of Christendom. He first landed in Sicily, where Wil- 
liam, king of that country, who had married Joan of 
England, received him with kindness, and instantly 
took measures for furnishing such assistance to the 
Christians of the Holy Land, that the small territory 
yet unconquered, might be successfully defended 
till farther succour could arrive. Three hundred 
knights and a considerable naval force were des- 
patched at once ; and William of Sicily was con- 
tinuing zealously his preparations, when death cut 
him off in the midst ; and the crown was seized by 
Tancred, natural son of Roger I. 

From Sicily, the Archbishop of Tyre proceeded to 
Rome ; but he only arrived in time to witness the 
death of Pope Urban III., 2 whose mind was so deeply 
affected by the loss of the Holy Land, and the capture 
of the sepulchre, that his enfeebled constitution gave 
way under the shock, and he literally died of grief. 
Gregory VIII., who succeeded, lost not a moment in 
preaching a new crusade ; and during his short pon- 
tificate of but two months, he left no means untried to 
heal the dissensions of Christendom, and to turn the 
arms of the princes who now employed them against 
each other, to the service of God, as it was then con- 
sidered, in the deliverance of that land which had been 
sanctified by his advent. 

The first who took the cross was the famous Frederic 
Barbarossa, 3 who conducted a magnificent army across 
Hungary and Greece, saw through and defeated the 
perfidious schemes of the Greek emperor, Isaac An- 
gel us, 4 passed on into Asia Minor, overthrew in a pitched 

1 Bernard the Treasurer; William of Nangis, A. D. 1188; 
B . Peterborough. 

2 William de Nangis ; Jacob. Vit. lib. i. 

3 Bernard the Treasurer. 4 a. d. 1189, 1190. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



235 



battle the Saracen forces, which had been called against 
him by the base and cowardly Greek, and took the 
city of Iconium itself. Such splendid successes, with 
so little loss, had never before attended any Christian 
host ; but the light that shone upon the German arms 
was soon changed to darkness by the death of Frederic, 
who, bathing imprudently in the Orontes, 1 returned 
to his tent in a dying state, and soon after expired 2 at 
seventy years of age. After the decease of the emperor, 
while Henry, his eldest son, who had remained in 
Germany, assumed the imperial crown, Philip, Duke 
of Suabia, led on the host towards Antioch. But the 
very name of Frederic had been a subject of such fear, 
even to Saladin himself, 3 that he had ordered the 
towns of Laodicea, Ghibel, Tortosa, Biblios, Berytes, 
and Sidon, to be dismantled at the approach of the 
Germans. Now, again, the Saracens resumed the 
offensive ; and, between war and famine, the Teutonic 
crusaders were reduced to a small body when they 
reached Antioch. Their force was still sufficient to 
give them the command of that city, and proved a 
most serviceable aid to the Christian troops, who were 
slowly beginning to rally throughout Palestine. A 
new military institution was soon after attached, by 
the Duke of Suabia, to the German hospital, which 
had been founded at Jerusalem many years before by 
some northern merchants, and had since been greatly 
enlarged by the Hanseatic 4 traders of Bremen and 
Lubec. On this establishment he grafted the Order 
of the Knights of the Holy Cross, or the Teutonic 

1 1 have followed James of Vitry. Some say that Frederic's death 
proceeded from bathing in the Cydnus, and some in the Caly- 
cadnus. The matter is of little moment ; but, as he was de- 
scending towards Antioch at the time, it is not improbable that 
the Cardinal de Vitry was right. Emadeddin, in the collection 
of Arabic historians by Reinaud, calls this river the Selef. 

2 Jacob. Vit. ; Hist. Heros. ab. ; Bernardus; Lection. Canisius 
Antiquae. 

3 James of Vitry. 4 Pet. de Dusburg. 5 Chron. Ord. Teuton. 



236 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



knights of the Hospital of St. Mary, 1 which soon greatly 
increased, and was sanctioned by papal authority. 

I must now return to France and England, where 
private feuds had prevented the distresses of Palestine 
from producing so immediate an effect as they had 
wrought with the Germans. Henry II. had, as we 
have already seen, espoused Eleonor, the repudiated 
wife of Louis VII., and had obtained with her the 
whole of Aquitain. 2 This, in addition to Normandy, 
which he also held as a feudatory of the French crown, 
rendered the kingly vassal a greater territorial lord, 
than even the sovereign to whom he did homage for 
his continental lands. Such a state of things, was 
alone quite sufficient to cause endless dissensions; but 
soon more immediate matter was found. Louis VII. 
died. Philip Augustus succeeded, yet in his youth ; 
and Henry II., after having himself in execution of 
the feudal duty of the dukes of Normandy, lifted the 
crown with which Philip's brow was to be decorated, 
endeavoured to strengthen his own party in France as 
much as possible against the young monarch. His 
second son, Geoffrey, he married to Constance, Duchess 
of Brittany : his eldest son, Henry, espoused Mar- 
guerite, sister of Philip, and received with her the 
lordship of Gisors, 3 and the territory of the Vexin. 
Prince Henry died early, leaving no children ; and 
the land, by his marriage contract, reverted to the 
crown of France ; but his father refused to yield it. 
War broke out in consequence, and was raging fiercely 
when the news of the fall of Jerusalem reached Europe. 
The tidings were so unexpected, each one felt so deep 
and religious a devotion for the Holy Land, every 
knight had there so many relations or friends, that 
the news found a thousand avenues open to the 
hearts of all who heard it. The world, too, was then 

1 Existing Orders of Knighthood ; James of Vitry. 

2 Vit. Ludovic. VII. ; Roger de Hovedon. 

3 Rigord de gest. Phil. Aug. ; Hovedon ; Robert, de Monte. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



237 



mad with song. Nations in that early age had all the 
zealous passions of youth. That fresh ardour — that 
wild spirit of pursuit, which almost every one must 
have felt in his own young days, was then the cha- 
racter of society at large. Europe was as an enthu- 
siastic boy, and whatever it followed, love, religion, 
song, it followed with the uncontrolled passion, the 
fiery desire which burns but in the days of boy- 
hood amongst nations as amongst men. Poetry had 
now become both the great delight, and the great 
mover of the day ; and all the eloquence of verse 
found a fit subject in the sorrows of Palestine. The 
Troubadours 1 and the Trouveres vied with each other, 
w T hich should do most to stimulate the monarchs and 
the Chivalry of Europe, to lay aside their private quar- 
rels, and to fly to the deliverance of the Holy Land. 
The plainte was heard from castle to castle, mourning 
over the loss of Jerusalem. The sir vent e and the 
fabliau were spread far and wide, lashing with all the 
virulence of indignant satire those whom feuds or in- 
terests withheld from the battles of the cross. The 
papal authority enjoined, with its menaces and its 
inducements, peace to Europe and war to the Sa- 
racen: but even superstition and zeal effected little, 
when compared with the power of the new passion for 
song. The first crusade had been the effect of a 
general enthusiasm ; the second of individual elo- 
quence ; but this was the crusade of poetry. The 
two first, were brought about by the clergy alone ; 
but this was the work of the Troubadours. 

A truce between Henry II. and Philip Augustus was 
agreed upon, and a meeting was fixed between Trie 
and Gisors, 2 for the purpose of considering the manner 
of settling all difficulties, and the best means of de- 
livering Jerusalem. The whole of the barons of France 

1 Geoffroi Rudel in Raynouard ; Millot ; Ducange. 

2 William of Nangis, a. d. 1188; Rigord. 



238 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



and England were present at this parliament, which 
was held in the month of January, and mutual jea- 
lousies and hatred had nearly turned the assembly 
which met to promote peace, to the purposes of 
bloodshed. At length the Cardinal of Albano, and 
William, Archbishop of Tyre, presented themselves 
to the meeting ; and the oriental prelate having re- 
lated all the horrors he had himself beheld in the 
Holy Land — the slaughter of Tiberias, the fall of Jeru- 
salem, the pollution of the temple, and the capture of 
the sepulchre — the symbol of the cross was unanimously 
adopted by all ; private wars were laid aside, and a 
mode of proceeding was determined on, which pro- 
mised to furnish vast supplies for the holy enterprise 
to which the kings and barons bound themselves. 

The first of the measures resolved, was to enforce 
a general contribution from all persons who did not 
take the cross, whether clergy or laity, towards defray- 
ing the expense of the crusade. This consisted of a 
tenth of all possessions, whether landed or personal, 
and was called Saladins tithe. Each lord, clerical 
or secular, had the right of raising this tax within his 
own feof. The lord of the commune could alone 
tithe his burghers, the archbishop his see, the abbot 
the lands of the monastery, the chapter the lands 
of the church. Any knight having taken the cross, 
and being the legitimate heir of a knight or a widow 1 
who had not taken the cross, was entitled to lay the 
tax upon the lands of the other ; while all who re- 
fused or neglected to pay their quota, were given ab- 
solutely to the disposal of him who had the right to 
require it. At the same time that such inflictions 
were adjudged to those who rejected the call to the 
Holy Land, many immunities were accorded to such 
as followed the crusade. Great facilities were given 
to all the crusaders for the payment of their anterior 

1 Rigord in vit. Philip August. ; Guil. de Nangis, A, d. 1188, 



v 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



239 



debts ; but they were by no means, as has been fre- 
quently asserted, 1 liberated from all engagements during 
the time they were occupied in the expedition. Such 
were the regulations which were first brought forward 
at Gisors. Each of the monarchs proposed them after- 
wards to a separate court of their barons and clergy, 
Philip at Paris, and Henry, first at Rouen, to his 
Norman council, and afterwards to his English vassals 
at Geddington, in Northamptonshire. 

All seemed now to tend rapidly towards the great 
enterprise ; nothing was seen in the various countries 
but the symbol of the cross, which in England was of 
ermine, or white, of gules, or red for France, and of 
synople, or green for Flanders. 

But the whole current of feeling was suddenly 
turned, by an aggression of Richard, Duke of Guienne, 
afterwards King of England, upon the territories of 
the Count of Toulouse. Philip Augustus flew to arms 
to avenge his vassal and friend ; Richard met him with 
equal fierceness, and the feuds between France and 
England were renewed with increased violence. 2 Many 
of the French and English knights, several of the 
clergy of the two countries, together with a great 
multitude of Germans, Italians, and Flemings, waited 
not for the tardy journey of the crusading monarchs, 
but passed over into the Holy Land, and joined them- 
selves to Guy of Lusignan, who had now collected the 
remnants of all the military orders, and, with those 
princes and knights who had escaped the Moslem 
scimitar, was engaged in besieging Acre. His forces 3 
gradually increased till they became immense ; and, 
owing to the skill of those by whom he was accompa- 
nied, rather than his own, the camp of Lusignan was 
fortified in such a manner that no efforts of the Sara- 

1 See Rigord, who gives minutely the statutes on this occasion. 

2 Branche des royaux Lignages, ann. 1189-90, Guil. de Nangis 
Rigord. William the Breton. 

3 Bernard the Treasurer ; James of Vitry. 



240 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



cens could penetrate its lines. Saladin pitched his 
tents on the mountains to the south, not long* after 
the Christians had undertaken the siege, and innu- 
merable battles in the open field succeeded, in which 
neither army gained any material advantage, that was 
not compensated by some following reverse. 

The fleet of the Saracens supplied the town, 1 and 
the fleet of the Christians brought aid to the camp, so 
that the conflict seemed to be interminable, from the 
equal zeal and force of the contending parties. 

In the mean while, the war between Henry and Philip 
continued ; and, from a personal dispute between 
Richard Coeur de Lion and the French monarch had so 
changed its character, that Richard, accompanied by 
his brother John, went over to the faction of the enemy, 
and did homage to the crown of France. 2 Henry, 
abandoned by his children and the greater part of his 
nobles, found himself forced to sign an ignominious 
peace ; and after one of the violent fits of passion 
to which he so often yielded himself, was taken ill, 
and concluded a long life of vice and crime, before the 
altar of the Lord, 3 which he had once caused to be 
stained with blood. 4 

Richard and Philip were already in alliance ; and 
no sooner had the new monarch of England ascended 
the throne, than the preparations for the crusade were 
resumed with activity. Ample treaties were entered 
into between the French and English kings, and 
as the clergy, though willing enough to preach the 
crusade, were in general unwilling to aid it by the 
payment of Saladin's tenth, Richard had recourse to 
the most arbitrary 5 extortions, to furnish the sums ne- 
cessary for his enterprise. Philip Augustus, the 
Count of Flanders, and Richard Cceur de Lion met 

1 Continuation of William of Tyre, Anon. 

2 R. de Diceto. Roger de Hovedon. Matthew Paris, Ann. 1188, 

3 Henry died before the altar of the church of Chinon. 

4 Hovedon. 5 Brompton; Hovedon, 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY* 



241 



at Nonancourt on the confines of Normandy, and 
engaged mutually to live in peace and defend each 
other, as true allies, till a period of forty days after 
their return from Palestine. 1 Richard also published 
a code of laws or regulations for the government of his 
troops during the expedition. By these it was enacted, 
that whoever slew a brother crusader should be tied 
to the corpse and buried alive ; or, if the murder were 
perpetrated at sea, should be plunged with the dead 
body into the waves. A man who drew his knife upon 
another, or struck him so as to produce blood, was 
destined to have his hand cut off. Other chastise- 
ments were instituted for simple blows, abusive lan- 
guage, and blasphemy ; 2 and if any one were discovered 
in committing a robbery, he was sentenced to have his 
head shaved and to be tarred and feathered. This is, 
I believe, the first mention in history of that curious 
naval punishment. 

Each of the crusading monarchs now made large 
donations to abbeys, churches, and religious commu- 
nities, 3 and performed various acts of grace to bring 
down the blessing of Heaven upon their enterprise. 
They took every measure that could be devised for 
the security and good of their respective realms during 
their absence, and then proceeded towards Lyons, 
where, finding that the followers of their camp were 
becoming somewhat more numerous than was desirable, 
and remembering the vices and irregularities of the 
former crusades, they instituted several new laws ; 
amongst which it was strictly enjoined that no woman 
should be permitted to accompany either army, except 
washerwomen, and such as had accomplished fifty 
years. Here, also, the two Kings separated, 4 and 

1 Diceto. 2 Rymer, col. diplom. 

3 Brequegny, col. ann. 1188 Rigord in vit." Phil. Aug 

4 Benedict of Peterborough. 

R 



242 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



Philip, traversing the Alps, soon arrived at Genoa, 1 
where he hired vessels to carry him to Messina, the 
general rendezvous, which place he reached with no 
other impediment than a severe storm. 

Richard in the mean time hurried on to Marseilles, 
where he waited a few days for the fleet which was 
to have joined him from England ; but his impatient 
spirit could never brook delay, and, after a pause of 
little more than a week, he hired all the vessels he 
could find, and proceeded to Genoa. Leaving that 
city he touched at several places on the coast of 
Italy, and near the mouth of the Tiber, was en- 
countered by Octavian, Bishop of Ostia, who de- 
manded various sums, stated to be due to the church 
of Rome from the English monarch,' as fees, on the 
election of the Bishop of Ely, and the deposition of 
the Bishop of Bordeaux. Richard replied by boldly 
reproaching the prelate with the simoniacal avarice of 
his church, and sent him indignantly from his pre- 
sence. In the gulf of Salernum, the English King 
w T as met by his fleet, and soon anchored before Mes- 
sina, causing all the horns of his armament to blow as 
he entered the port. The noise was so great, that the 
inhabitants crowded to the walls, where they beheld 
the thousand banners of England covering the sea with 
all the gay and splendid colours of chivalrous bla- 
zonry. 2 Richard was fond of such display, and, per- 
haps, so slight a thing as this, first woke that jealousy 
in the bosom of Philip Augustus, which afterwards 
proved ruinous to the crusade. Nevertheless that 
monarch came down to meet Richard, with Tancred, 
the usurping King of Sicily, who had every thing to 
fear from the anger of the hasty sovereign of England. 
After dispossessing Constantia, the heiress of the 
crown, Tancred had imprisoned Joan, sister of Richard, 

1 Rigord says nothing of any illness which Philip suffered at 
Messina. 

2 Hovedon j Brompton. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



243 



the widow of the last King, William the Good. He 
had freed her it is true, on the news of Richard's arri- 
val ; but the first act of the English monarch, 1 was 
to demand the restitution of his sister's dowery, and 
the legacies which had been bequeathed by William 
of Sicily, to Henry II. of England. These together, 
amounted to forty thousand ounces of gold, 2 and for 
some time Richard's application was met by nothing 
but quibbling and evasion. 

The best intelligence had hitherto reigned between 
the French and English, but not so with Richard's 
knights and the people of Sicily. The Anglo-Normans 
were dissolute and reckless, and the Sicilians soon 
proceeded from squabbling and opposition, to seek 
bloody revenge. It is probable that both parties were 
in fault. Every thing at Messina was charged at a 
most exorbitant price, 3 and the Normans were very 
apt to take, what they could not buy. The Sicilians 
cheated them, and they plundered the Sicilians, till, 
at length some of the Norman soldiers were killed. 4 
Hugh Lebrun, a favourite of Richard, was wounded ; 
and Richard himself, finding the peasantry supported 
by Tancred, in the attack on his soldiers, lost com- 
mand of his temper, fell upon the people who had 
come forth from Messina, stormed the walls of the city ; 
and, in an inconceivably short time, the banner of the 
King of England was flying over the capital of Sicily. 5 

Philip Augustus who had interfered on many oc- 
casions to quiet the differences between the Normans 
and the Sicilians, could not bear to see the English 
standard on the towers of Messina, and a coolness rose 
up between the two monarchs from that moment. 
All angry discussion, however, was removed by the 
conduct of Richard, which was calm and moderate, 
far beyond his usual habits. He offered to give up the 

1 Benedict of Peterborough. 

2 Rigord ; Benedict of Peterborough. 3 Rigord. 
4 Vinesauf. 5 Ben. Abb. Peter. ; R. Hovedon. 

R 2 



244 



HISTORY IN CHIVALRY. 



guard of the city to either the Knights of the Temple or 
of St. John, till his claims on Tancred had been fairly 
met. This tranquillized the matter for a time, but 
Eleonor, Richard's mother, now arrived in Sicily, 1 bear- 
ing with her the beautiful Berengaria, of Navarre. The 
King of England had been affianced to Alice of France, 
the sister of Philip, but criminal intercourse it was sup- 
posed had existed between the French Princess and 
Henry II., and Richard had long meditated breaking 
off formally an alliance he never intended to fulfil. The 
sight of Berengaria decided him. 2 Some letters were 
shown to him by Tancred, King of Sicily, in which 
Philip Augustus promised aid to the Sicilians in case of 
their warring with the English. Richard, with the papers 
in his hand, cast himself on horseback, and galloped 
to the tent of the French monarch. Philip declared 
the letters were forged, and that Richard's anger was 
a mere pretence to break off a marriage which suited 
not his taste. War between the two Sovereigns seemed 
inevitable, and how it was averted does not very clearly 
appear. Probably the higher barons interposed ; but 
at all events the concessions were on the side of Philip, 
who, by a formal treaty, renounced all pretensions to 

1 Rigord. 

2 Rigordus states positively that Berengaria had arrived before 
the treaty was signed between Philip and Richard. Mills [says 
that Richard remained in Sicily after Philips departure, to wait 
for Berengaria ; but Rigord lived at the time, and was one of 
the most diligent inquirers who have left us records of that age. 
The Branche des royaux Lignages makes Richard say to the 
King of France, 

" Sirevostre suer espousai 
De laquele atan le don hui ; 
Mes one nul jour ne la connui 
Et j'ai puis prise Berangarre 
Qui fille est au roy de Navarre." — 1226. 
William the Breton, also, who was afterwards chaplain to Philip 
Augustus, represents Richard as saying, 

" Et jam juncta thoro est mihi Berengaria, regis 
Filia Navarrse." 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



24.5 



Richard's hand, on the part of his sister ;* confirmed 
him in all the feofs he held from the crown of France ; 
and, leaving him and Berengaria to conclude their 
marriage, he set sail with his fleet for Acre. 

The appearance of the French before that place 
caused great rejoicing amongst the Christians, for 
notwithstanding every effort on the part of the as- 
sailants the city still held out; and, girt in them- 
selves by the army of Saladin, the scarcity 2 was little 
less in their camp than in the town. Before the 
coming of their allies, the crusaders under the walls 
of Acre, had done all that human ingenuity could 
invent to force the garrison to yield. They had 
turned the course of the river which supplied the 
city with fresh water ; they had been incessant in 
their attacks ; and, during nearly two years, had 
never relaxed one moment in their endeavours. 3 It 
was apparent, therefore, that nothing but assault by 
a large force could carry the fortress, and this the 
arrival of Philip gave the possibility of attempting. 
That monarch, however, either from some engagement 
to that effect, or from the scantiness of the succour 
he brought, which, according to Boha Eddin, con- 
sisted only of six large ships, 4 determined to wait the 
arrival of Richard Coeur de Lion, contenting himself 
with battering the walls in the mean while. 

The coming of the King of France had spread as 

1 Rigord in vit. Phil. Aug-. ; Hovedon ; Rymer. 

2 Bernardus. 

3 Various knights are mentioned by Bernard the Treasurer, 
as having signalized themselves greatly, both prior to the siege and 
after its commencement. One in particular, whom he calls the 
Green Knight, even raised the admiration of the Saracens to such 
a height that Saladin sent for him, and made him the most brilliant 
offers, in hopes of bringing him to join the Moslems. It is more 
than probable that this Green Knight was the famous Jacques 
d'Avesnes, and was so called from the colour of the cross which 
he wore. 

4 Auteurs Arabes, rec. de Reinaud ; Branche des loyaux Rig- 
nages ; Rigord in vit. Phil. August. 



246 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



much alarm amongst the Saracens as joy amongst 
the Christians ; but his inactivity calmed their ap- 
prehensions ; and the escape of a magnificent white 
falcon which Philip had brought from Europe, was con- 
sidered by the infidels, as an evil omen for the French 
monarch. The bird flew into the besieged city, and 
was thence sent to Saladin, who would not be pre- 
vailed upon to part with it, though Philip offered a 
thousand pieces of gold for his favourite falcon. 1 

Richard remained some time in Sicily, enjoying the 
idleness and luxury of a delicious climate, and a fertile 
and beautiful land; but the preaching of a wild en- 
thusiast, called Joachim, together with various celes- 
tial phenomena, which the superstition of the age 
attributed to Divine wrath, awoke the monarch from 
his dream of pleasure, and after having submitted to 
an humiliating penance, 2 he set sail for Acre. A 
tempest soon dispersed his fleet, and three of the 
vessels were lost upon the rocky shores of Cyprus. 
The monarch of that island, one of the Comneni of 
Constantinople, had rendered himself independent of 
Greece, and had taken the title of Emperor. In the 
madness of insatiable greediness, he pillaged the crews 
and passengers of the English vessels stranded on his 
coast, and refused a refuge to the bride and sister of 
Richard himself, when driven by the storm into the 
port of Limisso. At Rhodes 3 the lion-hearted king 
heard of the disasters of his fleet, and the inhospitality 
of the Emperor of Cyprus, and no sooner had he 
gathered together his ships, than he sailed for Limisso, 
and demanded reparation and apology. 

With infinite moderation, the more admirable in the 
conduct of a violent and irritable monarch, he three 
times required satisfaction before he proceeded to 
any act of aggression. At length finding it not to 

1 Boha Eddin, rec. de Reinaud. 

2 Brompton, a. d. 1191 ; Ben. Abb. Peterborough, 1191. 

3 Hovedon ; Ben. Abb. Peterborough. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



247 



be obtained but by the sword, he landed on the 
island, drove the coward Greeks 1 before him, took the 
ungenerous usurper Isaac, and reduced the whole 
country to his sway. His wrath had now been 
roused, and all temper was forgotten : he taxed 
the unfortunate inhabitants of the country to an enor-? 
mous extent; and then, after having spent some time 
at Limisso, where he celebrated his marriage with 
Berengaria, he once more set sail for Acre. In the 
passage the fleet of the English monarch came sud- 
denly upon a large vessel bearing the arms of the King 
of France. Something suspicious, in the appearance 
of the ship, induced Richard to pursue her, and it 
was soon discovered that she was filled with Saracen 
troops. 

The attack was instantly ordered; 2 the infidels de- 
fended themselves with the greatest bravery ; the sea 
was covered with Greek fire, and a rain of arrows fell 
upon the decks of the low European galleys from the 
high sides of the Arabian vessel. But resistance 
against the whole fleet of the English king was vain, 
and the Emir Jacob, who commanded, ordered the 
ship to be sunk by cutting through the bottom 
with hatchets. Before this could be completely 
accomplished, however, the English and Normans 
were masters of the vessel, and ere she went down a 
great part of her cargo was saved. This principally 
consisted of military stores for the camp of Saladin ; 
and, amongst other implements of destruction, the Eng- 
lish were surprised and horrified to find a number of 
large earthen vases, filled with poisonous reptiles, from 
the bites of which it was known that the Christians 
near Acre suffered most dreadfully. Whether these 
animals were, or were not, really destined by Saladin, 
as the means of a new and direful mode of warfare, 

1 Hovedon ; Brompton ; Will. Newb. 

2 Boha Eddin ; Walter Vinesauf ; Hovedon ; Benedict of 
Peterborough. 



248 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



such was the purpose which the Christian monarch 1 at- 
tributed to those who carried them ; and, giving way 
to his wrath, he ordered all the prisoners to be put to 
death. Some few were saved, who were afterwards 
ransomed according to the universal custom of the 

da y- 2 

But little time now elapsed ere Richard, with 
a hundred sail, arrived before the city of Acre, 
and the shouts of joy that welcomed him, made his 
proud heart beat with more than wonted ardour. All 
the Chivalry of Europe were upon the sandy plain 
between Ptolemais and the mountains of Carouba: 3 
the Templars, the Hospitallers, the Knights of France, 
of England, of Germany, of Italy, of Flanders, and of 
Burgundy. Thousands of banners floated on the 
wind; and every sort of arms,* device, and ensign, 
glittered through the camp. On the inland hills lay 
the millions of Saladin, with every accessory of eastern 
pomp and eastern luxury. There, too, was the pride of 
all the Saracen tribes, called into the field by their 
great monarch to meet the swarming invasion of the 
Christians. 4 One wing of the Moslem army was com- 
manded by Malek Adel Saif Eddin, 5 brother of Sa- 
ladin, and the other by that monarch's nephew, Mo- 
dafTer. Through the host were seen banners of green, 

1 Peterborough ; Vinesauf ; James, Cardinal of Vitry, lib. i. 

2 Mills speaks of the conduct of Richard in the following 
terms : " The sanguinary and ungenerous Richard killed or 
cast overboard his defenceless enemies ; or, with an avarice 
equally detestable, saved the commanders for the sake of their 
ransom.' ' That author, however, says not one word of the Sa- 
racens fighting under false colours, or of the horrible cargo 
which they carried in their ship, though he afterwards himself 
alludes to the sufferings of the crusaders from the bites of rep- 
tiles. Is this historical justice ? 

3 Bernard the Treasurer. 

4 Boha Eddin, rec. Hist. Arabes de Reinaud. 

5 His name, literally translated, means the just ki?iff, the sword 
of the faith. From Saif Eddin the Christians composed the 
word Saphaddin, by which he is generally designated in the 
chronicles of the time. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



249 



and black, and yellow; and armour of as many kinds, 
and of as great magnificence, as that of the Europeans. 

Nor was the chivalrous courtesy of the day, confined 
to the Christian camp. In times of truce the adverse 
nations mingled together in friendship ; and at one mo- 
ment they sent mutual presents, and reciprocated good 
offices, while at another, they met in bloody and impetu- 
ous strife. Saladin himself seems to have conceived the 
highest respect for the character of Richard ; and, when 
he- was not opposing him in the field, he was always 
desirous of showing that the Moslems were not to be 
outdone in generous sentiment by any of the Christian 
knights. It would be endless to recount all the trans- 
actions of the siege of Acre. The spirit of the whole 
of this crusade (which I could wish to dwell upon 
more than anything else), has been already fully, per- 
fectly, and feelingly, displayed, in that most beautiful 
composition, The Talisman; wherein Sir Walter Scott, 
however he may have altered some historical facts to 
suit the purposes of fiction, has given a more striking 
picture of the human mind in that age — of the cha- 
racter of nations as well as individuals — than any dull 
chronicle of cold events can furnish. 

Richard Coeur de Lion soon after his arrival before 
Acre, was seized with the fever of the country, and in 
the attack made upon the town by Philip Augustus the 
English monarch was not present. 1 Philip murmured 
highly, and his assault was repulsed from the want 
of sufficient forces to follow up his first advantage. 
Richard in his turn attempted to storm the city, with- 
out the aid of France, and notwithstanding efforts of 
almost incredible valour, was likewise repelled. Mu- 
tual necessity brought some degree of concord ; and it 
was agreed that while one army assailed the walls the 
other should guard the camp, but still the endeavours 
of both were ineffectual to take the town by storm ; 



1 Vinesauf ; Hovedon. 



250 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



and continual disputes were every day springing up 
between the two monarchs and the two hosts. Philip 
strove to seduce the vassals of Richard to follow his 
banner, as the sovereign of their sovereign, and payed 
three pieces of gold per month to each of the Norman 
knights who would join his standard: 1 Richard gave 
four pieces of gold to all who came over from Philip, 
and many a French feudatory joined himself to the 
English king. The siege of Acre still advanced, not- 
withstanding, less indeed by the presence or efforts of 
the two sovereigns, than by the simple fact of the city 
being cut off from all supplies. It had now held out 
for many months ; and for long, had endured but little 
privation from its communication with the sea; but, as 
one article of the first necessity after another, became 
exhausted, that means of receiving provisions was not 
sufficiently productive or regular for the supply of a 
great city. Even when ships arrived the town was in a 
state of scarcity, and a day's delay brought on a 
famine. Acre could resist no longer, 2 and after a 
short truce, which was asked in the hope of assist- 
ance from Egypt, it surrendered to the monarchs of 
France and England, on very rigorous terms. All the 
Christian prisoners within the town were to be freed, 
together with one thousand men and two hundred 
knights, chosen from those that Saladin detained in 
captivity ; two hundred thousand pieces of gold were 
to be paid, and the true cross was to be restored to 
the Christians. Such was the only capitulation granted 
to the people of Acre, who were also to remain in the 
hands of the crusaders till the stipulations had been 
fulfilled by Saladin ; and in case the conditions were 
not accomplished within forty days, the prisoners were 
left to the disposal of their conquerors. 

Saladin neglected to fulfil any of the terms which 

1 Chron. St. Denis. 

2 James of Vitry; Hovedon ; Vinesauf; Ben. of Pet; Ber- 
nard the Treasurer. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



251 



depended on him ; the ransom was not paid ; the 
wood of the cross was not restored ; and Richard 1 
cruelly commanded his prisoners to be put to death. 3 
After the capture of the city, the Archduke of Au- 
stria boldly placed his banner on one of the towers; 
but no sooner was it seen by Richard, than with his 
own hand he tore it down, and rending it to pieces, 3 
trampled it under his feet. The insult was neither 
forgotten nor unrevenged, though from that moment 
the banners of the kings 4 only continued to float 
from the walls of Acre. Thus new dissensions were 
added to those which had already arisen, and the two 
monarchs, by taking possession of the whole spoil and 
dividing it between them, gave high disgust to the rest 
of the crusaders. Another more tangible cause of ani- 
mosity soon sprang up. Sybilla, the wife of Guy of 
Lusignan, through whom alone he possessed the title 
of King of Jerusalem, died during the siege of Acre, 
but he still pretended a right to the throne. Conrad of 
Montferrat, Lord of Tyre, had seized upon Isabella, 
sister of Sybilla, and wife of the weak and cowardly 
Humphrey de Thoron ; and having obtained, by one 
means or another, a divorce between her and her hus- 
band, had married her ; on which marriage, he also, 
claimed the empty vanity of the crown. Richard, with 

1 Rigord ; William of Nangis ; James of Vitry ; Bernardus ; 
Vinesauf ; Hovedon. All these authors give different accounts 
of the numbers sacrificed. 

2 Bernard the Treasurer affirms that Philip caused the pri- 
soners to be executed ; but most of the other historians agree, 
that this piece of cruelty was committed by Richard alone. 

3 Rigord. 

4 Bernard the Treasurer says, that the English king lodged in 
the house of the Templars, and that Philip Augustus occupied 
the citadel; " Le Roi de France ot le chastel d'Acre, et le fist 
garnir et le Roi d'Angleterre se herberja en la maison du 
Temple." Most authorities, however, are opposed to this 
statement, declaring that Richard lodged in the palace, and 
Philip with the Templars. 



252 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



the Pisans and the Hospitallers, maintained the cause 
of Lusignan ; Philip Augustus, with the Genoese and 
the Templars, supported Conrad ; and the schism was 
only healed by Lusignan acknowledging Conrad to be 
heir to the nominal kingdom, while Conrad allowed 
Lusignan to retain the title for his life. 

Soon after this, the crusade received 1 its death-blow, 
by the defection of Philip Augustus. No doubt can 
exist that that monarch had really lost his health since 
his sojourn in the Holy Land ; but as little doubt is 
there, that his chief motive in returning to Europe, was 
his disgust 2 at the overbearing conduct of Richard, 
and his jealousy at the great superiority of his rival 
in all military exercises. Philip Augustus was an expert 
and able general, a brave and distinguished knight; 
but Richard was the wonder of his day, and what 
Philip might have admired in an inferior, he could 
not bear in a fellow-king. He therefore proclaimed 
aloud his illness, and his intention to return to Eu- 
rope, most unwisely — as James of Vitry observes — 
for the interest of the crusade ; for Saladin 3 had been 
so much depressed by the fall of Acre, that beyond all 
question immense concessions might have been ob- 
tained, had the monarchs but made a demonstration of 
acting in concert. As bound to him by treaties, Richard's 
permission was demanded by the King of France. 
At first Richard exclaimed,with a burst of honest indig- 
nation, " Eternal shame on him, and on all France, if 
for any cause, he leave the work unfinished !" 4 but he 
added afterwards, " Well, let him go, if his health 
require it, or if he cannot live without seeing Paris. ,, 
With this surly leave, Philip hastened his departure, 
after having made over to Conrad of Tyre his share in 
the city of Acre, and having sworn, in the most so- 

1 Bernard the Treasurer ; Rigord ; William the Breton ; 
Branche des royaux Lignages. 2 Rigord ; Robert of Gloucester. 

3 James of Vitry ; Boha Eddin ; EmadEddin; Recueil de 
Reinaud. 4 Benedict of Peterborough. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



253 



lemn manner, to respect Richard's possessions in 
Europe — an oath, which he soon found occasion to 
break. 

The Duke of Burgundy, 1 with ten thousand men, was 
left behind to support Richard, and that monarch, 
after repairing the fortifications of Acre, having seen 
the churches purified, and the Christian religion re- 
stored, marched out with considerable force, and took 
the road by the sea-side towards Ascalon. Vessels 
laden with provisions followed along the shore ; but, on 
the other hand, the Moslems, who had now recovered 
confidence at the dissensions which they knew reigned 
amongst the Christians, pursued the army as it 
marched, and harassed it by continual attacks. 

Richard 2 refrained from any thing like a general 
engagement, as long as such conduct was possible ; 
but near Azotus, he found himself compelled to fight, 
and he accordingly drew out his men in battle array. 
Eudes, Duke of Burgundy, commanded the left, and 
the famous Jacques d'Avesnes the right, of the crusa- 
ders, while Richard himself appeared in the centre. 

Saladin 3 led the attack against the Christian army, 
and the right gave way. At the same time the left re- 
pulsed the Moslems, and with the usual impetuous cou- 
rage of the French, who composed it, followed up their 
success till they were cut off from the main body. 
Richard advanced to the aid of the Duke of Burgundy, 
but only so far as to save him from being destroyed. 
With wonderful coolness, he waited till the Saracens 
had exhausted their arrows, and wearied their horses 
with rapid evolutions, so that the knights murmured 
at the unwonted inactivity of their monarch. At length, 
seeing that Saladin had weakened his left wing to at- 
tack the Duke of Burgundy, that the hail of missiles 
was passed, and that there existed some confusion in 

1 Bernard the Treasurer ; James of Vitry, &c. 
* Hovedon ; James of Vitry j Vinesauf. 
3 Vinesauf ; Boha Eddin. 



254 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



the enemy's 1 lines, the king commanded his knights 
to charge, and leading them on himself, he with his 
own hand overthrew all that opposed him. The Infidels 
whom he slew, and the feats that he performed, are 
almost incredible ; but certain it is, that his voice, his 
eye, his look, brought inspiration to the Christians and 
dismay to the hearts of the Moslems. The Saracen host 
fled amain, and Richard remained master of the field, 
having; to mourn few of his distinguished soldiers be- 
sides Jacques d'Asvesnes, who was slain towards the 
end of the battle. 2 

The road both to Ascalon and Jerusalem, was 
now open to the host of the cross ; 3 but, either from 
treachery, as some have supposed, or from envy, as 
others have imagined, Richard was continually op- 
posed in the council of war : the operations of the cru- 
saders became vacillating, uncertain, and ill-judged, 
and the kingdom of Jerusalem was virtually cast away. 
The army, instead of following its advantages, pro- 
ceeded to Jaffa, 4 wasted time in fortifying that city, 
and suffered the Saracens to recover from their panic. 
Various attacks were soon made upon the Christians ; a 
party of Templars was surrounded by the foe, and 
would have been cut to pieces, with the Earl of Lei- 
cester and some English who had come to their aid, 
had not Richard, with his lion-heart, rushed, almost 
unarmed, into the fight; and, scattering the enemy 
like a whirlwind, delivered his friends from their peril. 
On another occasion, he had himself nearly been 
taken prisoner, while falconing, and would certainly 
have fallen into the hands of the Saracens, had not one 
of his followers, named William de Pratelles, 5 ex- 
claimed, " I am the king V 9 and thus drawn the attention 

1 Hovedon ; Vinesauf. 

2 James of Vitry ; Trivet Annales. 

3 Bernard the Treasurer. 4 James of Vitry. 

s This gentleman was taken prisoner, but was of course ran- 
somed immediately by Richard* 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



255 



of the enemy to himself. After this, various treaties 1 
were entered into, which ended in nothing, and pro- 
bably were devised by the Saracens, merely for the 
purpose of gaining time to recruit their forces. It 
was even proposed that Joan of Sicily, thetEnglish 
monarch's sister, should be given in marriage to 
Saphacldin, or Saif Eddin ; and that Jerusalem should 
be yielded to the parties in this strange alliance. All 
these negotiations, however, terminated as they began, 
and hostilities were often commenced and suspended, 
equally without cause. Richard advanced to Ramula, 
and nothing opposed his proceeding to Jerusalem ; 
but at a council of war, it was determined that the 
army should retire upon Ascalon. 2 This was done, 
and Ascalon was once more fortified ; but here the 
troops were cut off from supplies, new divisions 
arose, and many desertions took place. The Duke of 
Burgundy retreated to Acre ; the Genoese and Pisans 
broke out into open warfare, and one party, sup- 
ported by Conrad of Montferrat, would have de- 
stroyed the other, had not Richard marched to the 
spot, forced Conrad to withdraw, and re-established 
peace between the contending nations. Conrad, 
frustrated in the views he had entertained, rejected 
all conciliation from Richard, and allied himself with 
Saladin. That monarch immediately hastened once 
more to attack the divided army of the cross ; 3 but 
Conrad was stabbed by two of a class of men, 
called the Assassins, 4 at the moment that Richard, 

1 Hovedon ; Boha Eddin. 

2 Vinesauf ; James of Vitry. 

3 Hovedon ; William of Nangis, ami. 1192 ; Vinesauf. 

4 For many years a horde of plunderers had been established 
in the mountains of Phoenicia, in the neighbourhood of Tortosa 
and Tripoli, who, in the end, obtained the name of Assassins, 
from the small dagger, which was their only weapon, and which 
was called hassassin. Their religion was a corrupted species of 
Islamism, and their government a fanatical despotism. Their 
chief was called sometimes the Ancient, sometimes the Lord of 



256 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



to obtain concord, had consented to his coronation as 
King of Jerusalem, in opposition to the claim of Guy 
of Lusignan. The French attributed the death of 
Conrad to Richard, and all parties flew to arms; but 
in the midst of this confusion, Henry, Count of 
Champagne, came forward, married the widow of Con- 
rad, was proclaimed King of Jerusalem 1 with the con- 
sent of all, and the united host, once more prepared 
to march and conquer the kingdom, for which they 
had just been providing a king. 

D uring this time, Richard Coeurde Lion, while waging 
the war for Jerusalem, was neglecting all his best interests 

the Mountains, and among the Christians he obtained the name 
of the Old Man of the Mountains. By working on the exciteable 
imaginations of an illiterate and fanatical race, the lords of this 
extraordinary tribe had obtained over them an influence unknown 
to any other power which was ever brought to sway the mind of 
man. The will of the Old Man of the Mountains was absolute 
law to each of his subjects. Whatever were his commands, 
whether to slay themselves or another, they asked no questions — 
paused not to consider of justice or injustice — but obeyed ; and 
when sent to execute the will of their lord upon any one, they 
followed their object with a keen sagacity and unalterable per- 
severance, that placed the life of each individual in the hands of 
their remorseless monarch. Nothing could turn them aside 
from the pursuit ; no difficulties were too great for them to sur- 
mount ; and when they had struck the victim, if they escaped, 
it was well ; but if they were taken, they met torture and death 
with stoical firmness, feeling certain of the joys of Paradise 
as a compensation for their sufferings. The number of this 
tribe, was about sixty thousand, all conscientious murderers, 
whom no danger would daunt, and no human consideration 
could deter. Such were the men who slew Conrad of Mont- 
ferrat ; and yet the French, with the wild inconsistency of their 
national hatred, attributed the deed to Richard, who never found 
aught on earth that could induce him to cover his wrath when 
it was excited, or to stay him from the open pursuit of revenge, 
which was always as bold and unconcealed, as it was fierce and 
evanescent. From this tribe we have derived the word assassin. 
— See James of Vitry ; Matthew of Paris ; William of Tyre ; 
Ducange ou Joinville. 

1 Bernard the Treasurer ; James of Vitry ; William of 
Nangis. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



257 



in Europe. John, his brother, was striving for the 
crown of England, and Philip Augustus was stripping 
him of his territories in France. Messenger after 
messenger brought nought but tidings of danger, and 
pressing solicitations for his return. 

Still Richard advanced towards Jerusalem, 1 but his 
force was too small to attempt a long-protracted siege. 
He found himself far from resources, and in a country 
where supplies could be obtained but with the greatest 
difficulty. 2 The marches before him were barren and 
hot ; little water was to be procured ; and at Bethlehem 
a council of twenty persons was appointed to inquire 
into the possibility of proceeding. Certain informa- 
tion was received that the Turks had destroyed all the 
wells and cisterns round the Holy City, and it was 
determined to abandon the enterprise. Richard felt 
the disappointment with all the bitterness of broken 
hope and crushed ambition. He was led to a hill 
from whence he could behold Jerusalem ; but the 
sight and its memories were too much, and, covering 
his eyes with his shield, 3 the warrior monarch turned 
away with a swelling heart to concert measures for 
gaining something, at all events, to compensate the 
loss of Jerusalem. But discord was in the bosom of 
the crusade ; the soldiers murmured, 4 the chiefs re- 

1 Bernard ; Vinesauf ; Matthew Paris. 

2 Little doubt can exist that one great cause of the abandon- 
ment of the crusade were the differences between Richard and 
the Duke of Burgundy. The Frenchman was jealous of the 
fame which the English king would have acquired by taking 
Jerusalem, and consequently took care that he should not effect 
that object. Such is the account given by Bernard the Trea- 
surer — a Frenchman who always showed a manifest tendency to 
exculpate his countrymen whenever there existed a fair excuse. 
Seethe Chronicle in old French, published in the collection of 
Martenne and Durand. It was generally attributed to Hugh 
Plagon, but has since been proved to be the original of Bernard 
the Treasurer. 

3 Vinesauf. 4 Hovedon ; Vinesauf. 

S 



258 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



belled, and the only thing that could save the army 
■was immediate retreat. Such, then, after many plans 
had been proposed and rejected, was the ultimate step. 
The great body of the forces, with Richard and the 
Duke of Burgundy, fell back upon Acre ; but a 
smaller part threw itself into Jaffa; and Saladin, 
recovering his energies as the crusaders lost theirs, 
collected his power and prepared to reap the fruits of 
their disunion. The hope of saving the Holy Land 
was now gone, and Richard determined to abandon 
an endeavour which jealousies and treacheries had 
rendered infeasible ; and, returning to Europe, to 
give his thoughts to the consolidation and security of 
his own dominions. Before he set out, however, the 
news reached him that Saladin had attacked Jaffa 
with immense forces ; and that the only hope of the 
garrison was in aid from him. 1 Sending the bulk of 
the army by land, he took advantage of a favourable 
wind, and set sail w 7 ith a very small retinue for the 
besieged city. When he arrived at Jaffa, he perceived 
that the gates were already in the hands of the Sara- 
cens, and that the Christians were fighting to the last, 
to sell their lives dearly. 6 'When King Richard found 
that the place was taken," to use the words of Bernard 
the Treasurer, " he sprang on shore, with his shield 
round his neck and his Danish axe in his hand, retook 
the castle, slew the Saracens that were within the 
walls, and drove those that were without back to their 
camp, where he halted on a little mound — he and his 
men. Saladin asked his troops why they fled; to which 
they replied, that the King of England had come to 
Jaffa, had slain much people, and retaken the town. 
Then Saladin asked, ' Where is he V And they re- 
plied, 'There, Sire, upon that hillock with his men/ 
* What V cried Saladin, < the king on foot amongst his. 
servants ! This is not as it should be/ And Saladin 

1 The French refused to march to the assistance of Jaffa. 



IIISTOUY OF CHIVALRY. 



259 



sent him a horse, 1 charging the messenger to say, that 
such a man ought not to remain on foot in so great 
danger/' 

The attempts of the Saracens were vain to recover 
the position they had lostj and their terror at the 
tremendous name of Richard made that name a host. 
This victory again placed the King of England in a 
commanding situation, and he took advantage of it to 
demand peace. Saladin gladly met his advances. A 
treaty was entered into, and a truce was concluded for 
three years and eight months, during which period the 
Christians were to enjoy the liberty of visiting Jerusa- 
lem, as pilgrims, exempt from all grievance. Tyre 
and Jaffa, with the whole district between them, were 
yielded to the Latins, who, on their part, agreed to 
demolish the fortifications of Ascalon. The troops of 
the cross were permitted to resort as palmers to Jerusa- 
lem, where the Sultaun received and treated them with 
courteous hospitality. Richard would not visit the 
city he could not capture, but the Bishop of Salisbury 
was entertained in the Sultaun's own palace, and 
obtained, from the generous Saracen, leave to establish 
three societies of Latin priests, in Jerusalem, in Beth- 
lehem, and in Nazareth. Various other splendid acts 
of kingly magnanimity closed Saladin's communication 
with the crusaders. 

On the 25th of October, a. d. 1192, Richard set 
sail for Europe. The fruits of his crusade were but 
small, as far as the recovery of the Holy Land was 
concerned ; but in his own person he acquired a de- 
gree of military glory that enmity could not wrest from 
him, and ages have not been able to dim. 

He had many faults and many failings; and his 
own pride contributed, as much as the jealousy of his 
enemies, to create disunion amongst the allies, and 
frustrate the object of the expedition. But he had 



1 Bernard the Treasurer, 
s 2 



260 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



also, to contend with many wrongs and difficulties, 
and possessed many bright and noble qualities. He 
carried the heart of a lion to his grave ; 1 and for centu- 
ries after the women of Palestine scared their children 
with his name. 2 

1 Bernard the Treasurer. 

2 The Queen Berengaria and Joan of Sicily left Acre on the 
29th of September, previous to the departure of Richard, who 
set out on the 25th of October, 1192. After encountering a 
violent storm, which scattered his fleet and wrecked the greater 
number of his vessels, Richard, with his single ship, touched at 
Zara, where he landed, accompanied only by two priests and a 
few knights of the Temple, whose garb he had assumed. From 
Zara, Richard endeavoured to make his way through Germany 
in disguise, but in vain. The news of his journey had already 
spread ; the unforgiving Archduke of Austria, whose banner he 
had trampled on at Acre, caused every road to be narrowly 
watched. One after another of his companions were sent away 
by the king, till at length, with a single squire, he arrived at a 
small town near Vienna ; where, taking up his abode at a petty 
lodging, Richard despatched his follower for provisions. The 
squire was recognised by some of the spies of the Archduke, and 
Richard was taken and cast into prison. The royal captive was 
speedily given into the hands of the Emperor of Austria, who 
concerted with Philip Augustus the means of detaining him in 
secrecy. His confinement, nevertheless, was soon known in 
England, and means were used to discover his precise situation. 
General tradition gives the merit of having ascertained his lord's 
prison, to his favourite Troubadour Blondel, or Blondiau ; and 
we may be surely allowed to regret that no grave historian has 
confirmed the tale. However that may be, the place of the 
king's confinement was discovered, and England began to cry 
loudly for justice from all Christendom. Knightly honour and 
religious feeling were invoked, and the infamy of detaining a 
traveller, a pilgrim, and a crusader, was proclaimed with the loud 
and powerful voice of a people's indignation. Henry at length 
felt himself obliged to yield some appearance of justice for detain- 
ing an independent monarch, and Richard was brought before 
the diet at Worms, where he was charged with imaginary crimes, 
the chief of which was the assassination of Conrad, Marquis of 
Montferrat. Had the least shadow of reason been left on the 
side of theEmperor,Richard's fate would have been sealed ; but the 
English monarch defended himself with so much eloquence and 
justice, that no doubt remained on the minds of those who heard 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



261 



him, and his ransom was agreed upon at one hundred thousand 
marks of silver. This money was obtained with difficulty, and 
John and Philip strove to raise greater sums to tempt the cupidity 
of the Emperor to retain the lion-hearted monarch. The 
avaricious Henry hesitated on their proposals, and thus was the 
liberty of the noble King of England set up to auction, till the 
Germanic body indignantly interfered, the ransom was paid, and 
Richard returned to England. 



262 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



DEATH OF SALADIN— DISUNION AMONGST HIS SUCCESSORS— CELESTINE III, 
PREACHES A NEW CRUSADE—HENRY OF GERMANY TAKES THE CROSS — 
ABANDONS HIS PURPOSE — CRUSADERS PROCEED WITHOUT HIM— SAIF EDDIN 
TAKES THE FIELD, AND CAPTURES JAFFA— THE CRUSADERS ARE REIN- 
FORCED—DEFEAT SAIF EDDIN— LAY SIEGE TO THORON— SEIZED WITH 
PANIC, AND RETREAT— DISPERSE— DEATH OF HENRY OF CHAMPAGNE, 
KING OF JERUSALEM— HIS WIDOW MARRIES ALMERIC, KING OF CYPRUS — 
TRUCE— DEATH OF ALMERIC AND ISABELLA — MARY, HEIRESS OF JERUSA- 
LEM, WEDDED TO JOHN OF BRIENNE— AFFAIRS OF EUROPE— INNOCENT III. 
AND FOULQUE OF NEUILLY, PROMOTE A CRUSADE— THE BARONS OF FRANCE 
TAKE THE CROSS— PROCEED TO VENICE— THEIR DIFFICULTIES — TURN TO 
THE SIEGE OF ZARA— A CHANGE OF PURPOSE— PROCEED TO CONSTANTI- 
NOPLE — SIEGE AND TAKING OF THAT CITY— SUBSEQUENT PROCEEDINGS — 
A REVOLUTION IN CONSTANTINOPLE— ALEXIUS DEPOSED BY MURZUPHLIS — 
SECOND SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF THE GREEK CAPITAL— FLIGHT OF MUR- 
ZUPHLIS — PLUNDER AND OUTRAGE — BALDWIN, COUNT OF FLANDERS 
ELECTED EMPEROR. ] 

For some time the Christians of the Holy Land 
enjoyed an interval of repose. Saladin was a reli- 
gious observer of his word ; and during the short 
space that intervened between the departure of Richard 
Cceur de Lion, and the death of his great adversary, 
the Latins received the full benefit of the treaty which 
had been executed between those monarchs. 

A year had scarcely elapsed ere Saladin was 
seized with a mortal sickness ; and, finding his end ap- 
proaching, he commanded the black standard, which 
had so often led the way to victory, to be taken 
down, and replaced by the shroud which was to wrap 
his body in the grave. This was then borne through 
the streets, while the criers called all men to behold 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



263 



what Saladin, the mighty conqueror, carried away 
with him of all his vast dominion. 1 Saladin died, a 
monarch in whose character, though the good was 
not unmixed with evil, the great qualities so far pre- 
ponderated, that they overbalanced the effects of a 
barbarous epoch and a barbarous religion, and left in 
him, a splendid exception to most of the vices of his 
age, his country, and his creed. 

At that period the principle of hereditary succession 
was not very clearly ascertained either in Europe or 
in Asia ; and the vast monarchy which Saladin had 
been enabled to consolidate was broken in pieces at 
his death. Saif Eddin, his brother, took possession 
of the greater part of Syria, and strengthened himself 
by the soldiers of his dead relative, who both loved 
and esteemed him. Three of the great monarch's 
sons seized upon such portions of their father's domi- 
nions as they could reach ; and civil dissensions fol- 
lowed, highly detrimental to the power of the Moslem, 
and favourable to the security of the Christians. This, 
indeed, was the moment when a crusade was most 
practicable, and Pope Celestine III. exhorted all 
Christendom to snatch the opportunity. In most in- 
stances his call fell upon cold and unwilling ears. 
Philip Augustus was too deeply engaged in those 
vast ana magnificent schemes which, however im- 
peded by the prejudices of the day, rendered his 
reign a great epoch in the history of nations. 2 Richard 
Coeur de Lion had learned the danger of quitting his 
own kingdom, and the vanity of hoping for union 
amongst ambitious men. Henry of Germany alone, 
moved by wild schemes for aggrandizing his territo- 
ries, assented at once to the crusade ; but finding 
that Sicily seemed ready to receive him, he deemed 
the nearer conquest the more advisable ; and on the 
same principle he had taken the cross, he abandoned 



William of Nangis. 



2 Rigord 5 William the Breton, 



264 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



it again. Not so his subjects ; an immense number 
of the vassals followed eagerly the road which he had 
quitted ; 1 and several Teutonic bishops, with the 
Dukes of Saxony, Brabant, and Bavaria, set out from 
Germany, and reached Acre in safety. 

The Christians of Palestine were at that moment 
in the enjoyment of peace, 2 and they beheld the coming 
of new crusaders with horror and despair. Had the 
troops that arrived been sufficient, indeed, to give 
any thing like certainty to their enterprise, all the 
Latins of the Holy Land would willingly have con- 
curred ; but the prospect of new and desolating wars, 
waged by scanty forces, was, notwithstanding the dis- 
sensions of their enemies, a hopeless and painful 
anticipation. Nevertheless, the Germans began their 
operations at once; 3 and Saif Eddin, with his whole 
attention suddenly directed to the Christians, showed, 
by the energetic activity of his movements, that the 
spirit of Saladin survived in his brother. Jaffa was 
taken by assault, 4 with a great slaughter of the Chris- 
tians, and all promised a speedy destruction to the 
small remains of the Latin kingdom. Fresh succours, 
Jiowever, were received from Europe ; the hopes of the 
Christians revived ; and, under the command of the 
Duke of Saxony, they marched on towards Beritus. 
Saif Eddin hastened to meet them, and attacked the 
Latin forces near Sidon ; but his army was com- 
pletely routed by the firm and steady gallantry of the 
Germans ; and the way to Jerusalem, was once more 
open to the followers of the cross. But the crusaders 
embarrassed themselves with the siege of the castle of 
Thoron. The Saracens had time to recover from their 
panic ; civil dissensions were forgotten ; and while 
the garrison of Thoron held out with persevering 



1 Will, of Nangis, arm. 1196. 2 James of Vitry. 

3 Bernard the Treasurer. 

4 Bernard ; William of Nangis, ann, 1197. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



265 



valour, the Sultaun of Egypt advanced to join his 
uncle, and repel the Christian invasion. Vague ru- 
mours of immense preparation, on the part of the 
infidels, reached the besieging army. The crusaders 
were, as usual, disunited amongst themselves; the 
Saracens within the castle were fighting with the 
courage of despair; and, at last, a sudden panic seized 
the leaders of the German army. 1 They abandoned 
the camp in the night, and flying to Tyre, left their 
soldiers to follow as they could. 2 A complete sepa- 
ration ensued between the Germans and the Latins ; 
each accusing the other of treachery, while the Syrian 
Christians remained at Tyre, the Teutonic crusaders 
proceeded to Jaffa. Thither Saif Eddin pursued 
them ; and another battle was fought, in which the 
Germans were once more victorious, though victory 
cost them the lives of many of their princes. Almost 
at the same time, news reached their camp, of the 
death of the emperor Henry. From that moment, 
none of the German nobles remembered aught but the 
election of a new emperor ; and, as soon as vessels 
could be procured, the principal barons set off for 
Europe. They left behind them in Jaffa, about 
twenty thousand of the inferior soldiers, and a few 
knights ; but the town was surprised by the Saracens 
on the night of the following festival of St. Martin ; 
and the Germans, plunged in revelry and drunken- 
ness, 3 were slaughtered to a man. 

Such was the end of the German crusade in Pales- 
tine ; and, before proceeding to speak once more of 
the affairs of Europe, it may be as well to touch upon 
the brief and uninteresting series of events that fol- 
lowed in that country. Henry, Count of Champagne, 
who had married Isabella, the heiress of Jerusalem, 

1 James of Vitry. 2 Hovedon. 

3 Fuller's Holy War ; Bernard the Treasurer. 



266 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



had proved but an indolent monarch ; and in the 
year 1197, at the precise moment when the Saracens 
had newly captured J aria, he was killed by falling 
from a window. His loss was attended by no evil 
consequences; 1 for the Saracens were soon involved 
once more in civil dissensions, by the death of Sa- 
ladin's second son, Malek el Aziz, Sultaun of Egypt, 
and the truce with the Christians was willingly re- 
newed. Isabella, the queen, whose grief was not 
even so stable as that of the Dame of Ephesus, was 
easily prevailed on, by the Grand Master of the order 
of St. John, 2 to give her thrice- widowed hand to 
Almeric of Lusignan, now — by the cession of Richard, 
of England — King of Cyprus. This marriage was 
certainly a politic one, as Cyprus afforded both a 
storehouse and a granary to Palestine ; but the peace 
with the Saracens remained unbroken till the bigoted 
Simon de Montfort, detaching himself from another 
body of knights, 3 which I shall mention hereafter, 
arrived at Acre, and made some feeble and ineffectual 
incursions on the Mussulman territory. After his 
fruitless attempts, the truce was once more established, 
and lasted till the death of Almeric and Isabella, when 
the crowns of Jerusalem and Cyprus were again sepa- 
rated. The imaginary sovereignty of the Holy City 
now became vested in Mary, 4 the daughter of Isabella, 
by Conrad of Tyre, while the kingdom of Cyprus 
descended to the heirs of Lusignan. According to 
feudal custom it was necessary to find a husband for 
Mary, who could defend her right, and on every 
account it was determined to seek one in Europe. 
The choice was left to Philip Augustus ; and he 
immediately fixed upon Jean de Brienne, a noble, 

1 James of Vitry ; Bernard; Will, of Nangis ; A. D. 1198. 

2 Vertot ; Bernard. 3 James of Vitry. 
4 Bernard ; a. d. 1205. 



HISTORY" OF CHIVALRY. 



267 



talented, and chivalrous knight, who willingly accepted 
the hand of the lady of Palestine, and that thorny 
crown which was held out to him from afar. 

The news of his coming, and the prospect of large 
European reinforcements to the Christians, 1 depressed 
the mind of Saif Eddin, who had already to struggle 
with vast and increasing difficulties. He tendered the 
most advantageous terms of peace ; but at that time 
the two great military orders may be said to have go- 
verned Palestine. 2 They were then, as usual, con- 
tending with jealous rivalry ; 3 and the Templars hav- 
ing, for the moment, the superiority, the offers of the 
Sultaun were refused, because the Hospitallers coun- 
selled their acceptance. Jean de Brienne arrived, 
and wedded Mary ; but the succour that he brought 
was very far inferior to that which the Latins had anti- 
cipated, and the war which had begun, was confined 
to predatory excursions on the territory of the enemy. 4 

I must now retrograde in my history for some years, 
and speak of the affairs of Europe. No crusade, as 
we have seen, had been desired by the Christians of 
Palestine 5 since they had enjoyed the comforts of 
peace, and no crusade had reached that country; but, 
nevertheless, one of the most powerful expeditions 
which Europe had ever brought into the field, had set 
out for the purpose of delivering Jerusalem. 6 

This crusade was, in the first place, instigated by 
the preaching of a man less mighty than St. Bernard 
in oratory, 7 and less moved by enthusiasm than Peter 
the Hermit ; but it was encouraged by one of the 
most talented and most ambitious of the prelates of 

1 Sanut. cap. 3. 2 Hovedon. 

3 The power of tlie orders of the Temple and the Hospital had, 
by this time, become immense. Riches flowed in upon riches, and 
donation was added to donation. In the year 1244, Matthew Paris 
declares the Templars possessed in Europe nine thousand manors, 
and the Hospitallers nineteen thousand. 

4 a. d. 1210. 5 James, Cardinal de Vitry. 
6 a. d. 1202. 7 Rigord. 



268 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



Rome. Foulque of Neuilly would have produced 
little effect, had he not been supported by Inno- 
cent III. ; and the influence of neither the one nor 
the other would possibly have obtained the object 
desired, had not the young and enterprising Thibalt, 
Count of Champagne, embraced the badge of the cross 
with his court and followers, at a grand tournament, 1 
to which he had invited all the neighbouring princes. 
In the midst of their festivities, Foulque appeared and 
called the whole assembly to the crusade. Partly, it 
is probable, from the love of adventure, partly from 
religious feeling, Thibalt in his twenty-second year as- 
sumed the cross. The Count of Blois, who was present, 
followed his example ; and of eighteen hundred knights 
who held vassalage under the Lord of Champagne, 
scarcely enough were left to maintain the territories 
of their sovereign. Nothing, except fear, is so con- 
tagious as enthusiasm : the spirit of crusading was 
revived in a wonderfully short time. The Count of 
Flanders, with various other persons, took the cross 
at Bruges, and many more knights joined them from 
different parts of France, amongst whom was Simon 
de Montfort, who afterwards proved the detestable 
persecutor of the Albigeois. 

After holding two general conferences at Soissons 
and at Compiegne, it was determined to send mes- 
sengers to Italy for the purpose of contracting with one 
of the great merchant states, to convey the armament 
to the Holy Land. 2 The choice of the city was left to 
the deputies ; and they proceeded first to Venice, fur- 
nished with full powers from the crusading princes to 
conclude a treaty in their name. Venice was at that 
time governed by the famous Henry Dandolo, who, 
with the consent of the senate, agreed not only to 
carry the crusaders to Palestine for a certain sum, 
but also promised to take the cross himself and 

1 Ducange ; Villehardouin chronique. 2 ViJjehardouin. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



269 



aid in their enterprise. 1 Well satisfied with this ar- 
rangement, the deputed barons returned to France, 
but found the Count of Champagne sick of a disease 
which soon produced his death. After having been 
refused by Eudes, Duke of Burgundy, and Thibalt, 
Count of Bar, the office of commander of the expe- 
dition was offered to Boniface, Marquis of Mont- 
fcrrat, and accepted. The new chief of the crusade 
repaired to Soissons, to confer with the rest of the 
knights, and then proceeded to Italy to prepare for 
his departure. All these delays retarded their de- 
parture till the year 1202, when they set out in several 
bodies for Venice, and arrived safely at that city with 
very little difficulty. 2 

Innocent III. had made infinite efforts in favour of 
the crusade : and, with the daring confidence of ge- 
nius, had even taxed the unwilling clergy, while he 
merely recommended charitable subscriptions amongst 
the laity. Under such circumstances it will be easily 
conceived, that the voluntary donations amounted to 
an equal sum with the forced contributions ; but what 
became of the whole is very difficult to determine. 
Certain it is, that when the crusaders arrived at Venice, 
not half the money could be raised amongst them which 
they had agreed to pay for the use of the republic's 
transports, 3 although the chiefs melted down their plate 
to supply those who had not the means to defray their 
passage. 

This poverty was attributed to the fact of various 
large bodies having, either by mistake or perversity, 
taken the way to the Holy Land 4 by other ports, and 
carried with them a large part of the stipulated sum ; 
but it does not appear that the Pope, into whose hands 
flowed the full tide of European alms, made any effort 
to relieve the crusaders from their difficulties. In this 

1 Ducange, Hist, de Constantinople sous les Francais. 

2 Vit. Innocent III. 3 Villehardouin. 4 Ducange. 



270 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



distress the Venetians offered to compromise their 
claim, and to convey the French to Palestine, on con- 
dition that they should aid in the recapture of the city 
of Zara, in Sclavonia, which had been snatched from 
the republic some time before by the King of Hungary. 1 
With this stipulation, Dandolo, though aged and 
stone blind, agreed to take the cross ; and so deeply 
affected were the knights, both with his forbearance 
and gallant enthusiasm, that the iron warriors of Europe 
were melted to tears by the old man's noble daring. 

The news of this undertaking having reached 
Rome, the most vehement opposition was raised to 
any change of destination ; and Innocent 2 launched 
the thunders of the church at the refractory cru- 
saders. Many of the chiefs — terrified by the excom- 
munication pronounced against those who should quit 
the direct road to the Holy Land, to attack the pos- 
sessions of a Christian prince — remained in Italy; 3 but 
the greater part made every preparation to second 
the Venetians against Zara. 

Before their departure the crusaders received en- 
voys, the event of whose solicitations afterwards gave 
a new character to their expedition. At the death of 
Manuel Comnenus, Emperor of the East, Androni- 
cus, his brother, seized upon the throne and mur- 
dered his nephew, Alexius II., who had succeeded. 
Either urged by indignation or ambition, Isaac An- 
gelus, a distant relation of the slaughtered prince, took 
arms against the usurper, overthrew and put him to 
death ; after which he in turn ascended the throne of 
Constantinople. 4 His reign was not long ; for, at 
the end of two years, a brother, named Alexius, whom 
he had redeemed from Turkish captivity, snatched 

1 Villehardouin. 

2 Baronius ; Gesta Innocent III. 3 Villehardouin. 

4 Villehardouin ; Ducange, Hist, de Constantinople sous Ies 
Francais. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



271 



the crown from his head, and, to incapacitate him 
from ruling, put out his eyes. 

His son, named also Alexius, made his escape from 
prison, and fled to Italy, where he endeavoured to 
interest the Pope in his favour. But the church of 
Rome entertained small affection for the schismatic 
Greeks ; . and though Innocent wrote an impotent 
letter 1 to the usurper, he showed no real favour to 
the unhappy prince. The young exile then turned 
to Philip of Suabia (then Emperor of Germany), who 
had married his sister, Irene ; and at the same time 
hearing of the crusade, which was delayed at Venice, 2 
he sent deputies from Verona to the chiefs, to solicit 
their aid against his treacherous uncle. The barons 
of France met his prayers with kindness ; and the 
envoys were accompanied, on their return to the 
court of Philip of Suabia, 3 by a party of the crusaders, 
who were instructed to receive any proposition which 
Alexius might think fit to make. 

In the mean while, the knights embarked on board 
the Venetian galleys, round the decks of which they 
ranged their shields, and planted their banners ; and 
having been joined by Conrad, Bishop of Halberstadt, 
with a large body of German soldiers, a finer arma- 
ment never sailed from any port. 4 

The chain which protected the harbour of Zara was 
soon broken through ; the crusaders landed, pitched 
their tents, 5 and invested the city on all sides. The 
besiegers, as usual, were much divided amongst them- 
selves ; and those who had unwillingly followed the 
host to Zara, against the commands of the Pope, 6 
still kept up a continual schism in the camp, which 
produced fatal consequences to the people of the 

1 Ducange, notes on Villehardouin. 

2 Philip Mouskes. 3 Villehardouin. 

4 It consisted of three hundred vessels of a large size, besides 
palanders and storeships. 

5 November, 1202. 6 Gunther ; Villehardouin. 



272 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY.' 



city. The morning after the disembarkation, a depu- 
tation of citizens came forth to treat with Dandolo, 
for the capitulation of the town. The Doge replied 
that he could enter into no engagement without con- 
sulting his allies, and went for that purpose to the 
tents of the French chiefs. During his absence, those 
who opposed the siege persuaded the deputies from 
Zara that the crusaders 1 would not assist the Vene- 
tians in an assault. With this assurance the Doge's 
reply was not waited for ; the envoys returned, and 
the city prepared for defence. At the same time, the 
Abbot of Vaux Cernay presented himself to the assem- 
bled barons, and commanded them, in the name of 
the Pope, to refrain from warring against Christians 
while engaged under the banners of the cross. On 
this the Doge angrily remonstrated ; the greater part 
of the knights embraced his cause ; and Zara, after 
being furiously attacked, surrendered at discretion. 

The town was now occupied during the winter by 
the army of the crusade ; and the chiefs of the French 
forces, sent a deputation to Rome to obtain pardon 
for their disobedience. This was easily granted ; but 
the Venetians, who seemed to care little about ex- 
communication, remained under the papal censure. 
Notwithstanding the forgiveness they had obtained, 
many of the most celebrated knights quitted Zara, 2 
and made their way to the Holy Land. Such deser- 
tions took place especially after the return of the 
deputies sent to Philip of Suabia ; and it was difficult 
to keep the army 3 together, when it became known 
that its destination was likely to be changed from 
Acre to Constantinople. 

Alexius, however, offered, in case of his being 
re-established • in his father's dominions, 4 to place 
the Greek church under the authority of the Roman 

1 Ducange ; Villeliardouin. 2 Alberic ; A. d. 1202. 

3 Villehardouin. 4 Ducange. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



273 



Pontiff, to turn trie whole force of the eastern empire 
against the infidels of Palestine, and either to send 
thither ten thousand men, and there maintain five 
hundred knights during his life, or to lead his forces 
towards Jerusalem in person. Besides this he pro- 
mised to pay two hundred thousand marks of silver 1 to 
the crusading army, and to place himself in the hands 
of the chiefs till the city of Constantinople was retaken. 

These offers were so advantageous that the greater 
part of the Barons embraced them at once ; but many 
exclaimed loudly against the proposed interruption 
of the main purpose of the crusade, and many aban- 
doned the host altogether. 

Alexius, the usurper, trembled at the news of the 
treaty between his nephew and the crusaders, and 
sent instant ambassadors to Rome, 2 in order to engage 
the Pontiff in his interest. Such of the chiefs as 
were opposed to the measure, talked loudly of the 
papal injunction to refrain from ail wars with the 
Christians; 3 but it does not appear that Innocent 
exerted himself strenuously to turn the Latins from 
their design. It was far too much his desire to bring; 
the Greek church under the domination of the Roman 
see, for him to dream of thwarting an enterprise backed 
with the solemn conditions I have mentioned ; and it 
was not at all likely, that the clearsighted prelate should 
renounce absolute engagements, as Mills has supposed, 4 

1 Villehardouin. 2 Ducange. 3 G anther in Canisius. 

4 Mills says that Innocent issued decrees and bulls against the 
expedition to Constantinople, and founds his reasoning on a 
passage of Baluzius : but it is extremely probable that the anger 
of the Pope was a mere menace of the party opposed to the 
enterprise rather than an existing fact. Baluzius was not present 
any more than Ducange ; and surely, for every thing where re- 
search is concerned, Ducange is the better authority of the two : 
yet Ducange makes no mention of the opposition of the Pope, 
and absolutely states that the legate counselled the attack on 
Constantinople. — See Ducange, hist, de Constantinople sous les 
Fran^ais. 

Geoff roy de Villehardouin, who was not only present, but ore 



274 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



for the vague hope of wringing the same from a trea- 
cherous usurper. 

At length, after the Venetians had demolished 
Zara, 1 to prevent its falling again into the hands of 
their enemies, the expedition, having been joined by 
the prince Alexius, set sail, and at the end of a short 
and easy passage came within sight of Constantinople. 2 

The allies were instantly met by ambassadors from 
the Emperor, who, mingling promises with threats, en- 
deavoured to drive them again from the shore, but in 
vain. The crusaders demanded the restoration of 
Isaac, and submission from the usurper, and pre- 
pared to force their landing ; but before they com- 
menced hostilities, they approached the walls of Con- 
stantinople, and sailed underneath them, showing the 
young Alexius to the Greek people, and calling to 
them to acknowledge their prince. No sympathy 
was excited, and the attack being determined on, the 
chiefs held a council on horseback, according to the 
custom of the ancient Gauls, when the order of their 
proceedings was regulated. The army was portioned 
into seven divisions, the first of which was commanded 
by the Count of Flanders, and the last by the Mar- 
quis of Montferrat. Having procured a number of 
flat-bottomed boats, one of which was attached to 
every galley, the knights entered with their horses, 
armed at all points, and looking, as Nicetas says, like 
statues of bronze. 3 The archers filled the larger vessels, 
and it was the general understanding that each should 
fight as he came up. 

of the chief actors in what he relates, speaks fully of the Pope's 
wrath at the attack of Zara, hut mentions no opposition to the 
enterprise against Constantinople, though that enterprise was in 
agitation at the time the deputies were sent to Rome. Philippe 
Mouskes, Bishop of Tournay, a contemporary, states that the 
first application of the young Prince Alexius to the crusaders 
was made by the advice of the Pope. 

1 Villehardouin. 2 June, 1203. 3 Nicetas, lib. iii. cap. 5. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



275 



4i The morning was beautiful," 1 writes the old 
Marechal of Champagne, " the sun beginning to rise, 
and the emperor Alexius waited for them with thick 
battalions and a great armament. On both sides the 
trumpets were sounded, and each galley led on a boat. 
The knights sprang out of the barks, while the water 
was yet to their girdle, 2 with their helmets laced and 
their swords in their hands ; and the good archers, 
the sergeants, and the crossbow-men did the same 
wherever they happened to touch. The Greeks, at 
first, made great show of resistance, but when they 
saw the lances levelled, they turned their backs and 
fled." 

The tents and camp equipage of the fugitives fell 
immediately into the hands of the crusaders ; and siege 
was laid to the tower of Galata, which guarded one 
end of the great chain, wherewith the mouth of the 
harbour w r as closed. Before night the Greeks had reco- 
vered from their panic, and some severe fighting took 
place, ere the fort could be taken and the barrier re- 
moved ; but at length this being accomplished, the Ve- 
netians entered the port. After ten days of continual 
skirmishing, a general attack was determined upon; 
and it was agreed that the Venetians 3 should assail the 
city by sea, while the French attempted to storm the 
walls by land. The enterprise began on the land side 
against the barbican; but so vigorously was every inch 
of ground disputed by the Pisans, the English and 
Danish mercenaries w 7 ho guarded the fortifications, that 
though fifteen French knights obtained a footing for 
some time on the ramparts, they were at length cast 
out, while four of their number were taken. 

In the mean while, the fleet of the Venetians ad- 
vanced to the walls; and after a severe fight of missiles 
between the defenders and the smaller vessels which 
commenced the assault, the galleys themselves ap- 

1 Villehardouin, ' 2 Ibid. ; 3 Dandolo, Chron. ; Villehardouiiu 
T 2 



276 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



proached the land; and, provided with high towers of 
wood, began to wage a nearer warfare with those upon 
the battlements. Still the besieged 1 resisted with 
extraordinary valour, and the galleys were beaten 
off ; when the blind chief of the republic, armed at all 
points, commanded, with tremendous threats in case 
of disobedience, that his vessel should be run on 
shore; 2 and then, borne out with the standard of St. 
Mark before him, he led the way to victory. Shame 
spread through the rest of the fleet ; galley after 
galley was brought up close under the walls, and all 
the principal towers round the port were in a moment 
stormed and taken. Alexius made one great effort to 
recover the twenty-five towers which the Venetians 
had captured ; but, with remorseless resolution, Dan- 
dolo set fire to the neighbouring buildings, and thus 
raised up a fiery bulwark to his conquest. 3 

As a last resource, the Emperor now issued forth to 
give battle to the French : and so infinite was the 
superiority of his numbers, that the hearts of the 
pilgrims almost failed them. The gallant Doge of 
Venice no sooner heard of their danger, than, aban- 
doning the ramparts he had so nobly won, he brought 
his whole force 4 to the aid of the French, declaring 
that he would live or die with his allies. Even after 
his arrival, however, the disparity was so great, that 
the crusaders dared not quit their close array to begin 
the fight, and the troops of Alexius hesitated to attack 
those hardy warriors, whose prowess they had often 
witnessed. The courage of the Latins gradually in- 
creased by the indecision of their enemy, while the 
fears of the Greeks spread and magnified by delay ; 
and at length Alexius abandoned the last hope of 
courage, and retreated into the city. The weary cru- 
saders hastened to disarm and repose themselves, after 

* Epist. Innocent III. 2 Villehardouin. 

5 Ducange ; Villehardouin ; Nicetas. 4 Villehardouin. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



277 



a day of immense fatigues ; but Alexius, having no con- 
fidence either in his own resolution, or in the steadiness 
of his soldiery, seized what treasure he could carry, 
and abandoned Constantinople to its fate. 1 The coward 
Greeks, deserted by their chief, drew forth the miser- 
able Isaac from his prison ; and having robed the 
blind monarch in the long-lost purple, they seated 
him on the throne, and sent to tell the Franks that 
their object was accomplished. The crusaders would 
hardly believe the tidings, but despatched four of their 
body to ascertain the truth. The envoys found Isaac 
enthroned in the palace of Blachernse, 2 and surrounded 
by as large and splendid a court, as if fortune had 
never ceased to smile upon him. 

They now represented to the restored Emperor the 
conditions of their treaty with his son ; and Isaac, 
after some slight hesitation, accepted them as his own. 
He also agreed to associate the young Alexius in the 
throne; but as all these hard terms, especially that 
which implied the subjection of the Greek church to 
the Roman prelate, deeply offended his subtle and 
revengeful subjects, he prayed the crusaders to delay 
their departure till complete order w T as re-established. 3 
This was easily acceded to ; and the Franks and Vene- 
tians, during their stay, wrote to Innocent III., excusing 
their having again turned from the road to Jerusalem. 4 
The Pope willingly pardoned both ; but intimated, 
that to make that pardon efficacious, they must be 
responsible, that the schism in the church should be 
healed, by the submission of the Greeks to the see of 
Rome. 

At first, the harmony between the Franks and the 
Greeks appeared to be great. The young Alexius 
paid several portions of the money which had been 

1 Nicetas. 2 Ducange ; Villehardouin. 

3 Villehardouin ; Ducange. 4 Gest. Innoc. III. 



278 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



stipulated ; l and while the presence of the Latin army 
kept the capital in awe, he proceeded to reduce the 
provinces to obedience. When this was completed, 
however, and the tranquillity of the empire seemed 
perfectly restored, his conduct changed towards his 
benefactors. A fire, which broke out in the city, 2 was 
attributed to the French, who were at the very moment, 
engaged in serious dispute with a party of Greeks, 
exasperated by an insult to their religion. The very 
domineering presence of the crusaders was a con- 
tinual and irritating reproach, and the Greeks began 
to testify no small hatred towards their armed guests. 
Alexius himself, ungrateful in his own nature, con- 
tending with his father about their divided sovereignty, 
and hesitating between the people he was called to 
govern, and those who upheld him in the govern- 
ment, refused or evaded the fulfilment of many of the 
items, in his treaty with the Latins. The chiefs 
soon found that they were deceived, and formally 
summoned the young monarch to accomplish his pro- 
mises. The messengers who bore the haughty demand 
to a despotic court, hardly escaped with their lives ; 
and the same desultory warfare, which had been waged 
by the Emperors against each body of crusaders that 
had passed by Constantinople, was now commenced 
against the Count of Flanders and his companions. 3 
A thousand encounters took place, in which the Franks 
were always victorious ; and though the Greeks di- 
rected a number of vessels, charged with their terrific 
fire, against the Venetian fleet, the daring courage 
and conduct of the sailors freed them from the danger, 
and only one Pisan galley was consumed. 

In the mean while the Greeks of the city, hating 
and despising a monarch who had seated himself 
amongst them by the swords of strangers, and who 

1 Ducange. 2 Nicetas. 3 Villehardouin. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



279 



had drained their purses to pay the troops that held 
them down ; l seeing, also, that his ingratitude, even to 
his allies, had left him without the support by which 
alone he stood, suddenly rose upon iUexius, and cast 
him into prison. Isaac himself died, it is said, of 
fear ; and the Greeks at rirst elected a nobleman of a 
different family, named Nicholas Canabus ; but he 
was mild and weak, a character which little suited the 
times or country in which he assumed so high a 
station. A rival, too, existed, in a man who had shown 
unremitting enmity to the Latins, and after a short 
struggle, Alexius Ducas, a cousin of the late monarch, 
a bold, unscrupulous villain, 2 was proclaimed Emperor. 
Amongst his first acts — though at what exact period 
remains in doubt 3 — the new Alexius, who was more 
commonly called Murzuphlis, caused the preceding 
Alexius to be put to death. The manner of his fate 
is uncertain : but the usurper had the cunning impu- 
dence to yield his victim's body a public funeral. 

War was now determined between the crusaders 
and Murzuphlis, and the attack of the city was re- 
solved ; but previous to that attempt, the crusaders, 
who were in great want of provisions, despatched 
Henry, brother of the Count of Flanders, with a con- 
siderable force to Philippopoii, in order to take pos- 
session of the rich magazines which it contained. 
Returning loaded with spoil, he was attacked by 
Murzuphlis ; but the Greeks scattered like deer be- 
fore the Latins, 4 and Henry rejoined his companions 
not only rich in booty, but in glory also. Nego- 
tiations were more than once entered into, for the 

1 Nicetas. 2 Ibid. ; Villeliardouin ; Gest. Innoc. III. 

3 Villehardouin intimates that Murzuphlis put Alexius to 
death immediately after having seized the crown ; and the 
Chronicle in theRouchy dialect. No. 148, Bibliotheque de 1' Arse- 
nal, says, "Et ne demeura gaires apres queMorcuffle estrangla 
le josne empereur Alexes en la prison." 

4 Nicetas. 



280 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



purpose of conciliating the differences of the Greek 
and the Latins ; but all proved ineffectual ; and early 
in the spring the armies of France and Venice pre- 
pared for the attack. The first step was, as usual, a 
treaty between the allies to apportion the fruits of 
success. By this it was determined that the whole 
booty should be divided equally between the French 
and Venetians ; 1 that six persons from each nation 
should be chosen to elect an Emperor ; that the Vene- 
tians should retain all the privileges they had hitherto 
enjoyed, under the monarchs of Constantinople ; and 
that, from whichever of the two nations the Emperor 
was selected, a patriarch should be named from the 
other. There were various other conditions added, 
the principal of which were, that one-fourth of the 
whole conquest should be given to the new Emperor, 
besides the palaces of Bucoleon and Blachernse, while 
the rest was divided amongst the French and Vene- 
tians ; and that twelve persons should be selected 
from each nation, to determine the feudal laws by 
which the land was to be governed, and to allot the 
territory in feofs among the conquerors. 

On the 8th of April, 1204, the whole army having 
embarked on board the ships, 2 as had been previously 
concerted, attacked the city by water. The vessels 
approached close to the walls, and a tremendous fight 
began between the assailants and the besieged : but 
no hope smiled on the Franks ; they were repelled in 
every direction ; and those who had landed, 3 were 
forced to regain their vessels with precipitancy, ap- 
proaching to flight. The Greeks rejoiced in novel 
victory, and the Franks mourned in unwonted defeat. 
Four days were spent in consultations regarding a 
further attempt ; and the chiefs, judging that no one 
vessel contained a sufficient number of troops to effect 



1 Ducange ; Villehardouin. 
3 Gunther ; Ducange. 



2 Villehardoain ; Ducange. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



281 



a successful assault on any particular spot, 1 it was 
resolved to lash the ships two and two together, 
and thus to concentrate a greater force on each point 
of attack. On the fourth day the storm was re- 
commenced, and at first the fortune of battle seemed 
still in favour of the Greeks ; but at length, a wind 
springing up, drove the sea more fully into the port, 
and brought the galleys closer to the walls. 2 Two 
of those lashed together, called the Pilgrim and the 
Paradise, now touched one of the towers, and from 
the large wooden turret, with which the mast was 
crowned, a Venetian, and a French knight named 
Andrew d'Arboise, sprang upon the ramparts of the 
city. 3 

The crusaders rushed on in multitudes ; and such 
terror seized the Greeks, that the eyes of Nicetas 
magnified the first knight, who leaped on the walls, 
to the unusual altitude of fifty feet. 4 One Latin 
drove before him a hundred Greeks ; 5 the defence of 
the gates was abandoned; the doors were forced in 
with blows of axes ; and the knights, leading their 
horses from the ships, rode in, and took complete 
possession of the city. Murzuphlis once, and only 
once, attempted to rally his troops before the camp 
he had formed, in one of the open spaces of the town. 
But the sight of the Count of St. Pol, with a small 
band of followers, was sufficient to put him to flight ; 
and a German having set fire to a part of the build- 
ings 6 no further effort was made to oppose the vic- 
torious crusaders. The fire was not extinguished 
for some time ; and the Latin host, in the midst of 
the immense population of Constantinople, like a 
handful of dust in the midst of the wilderness, took 
possession of the purple tents of Murzuphlis, and 
keeping vigilant guard, passed an anxious and a fearful 

1 Villehardouin. 2 Ducange. 3 2d April, 1204. 

4 Nicetas. 5 Gest. Inn. III. 6 Gunther ; Villehardouin. 



282 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



Bight, after all the fatigues and exploits of the day. 
Twenty thousand was the utmost extent of the Latin 
numbers ;* and Constantinople contained, within itself, 
four hundred thousand men capable of bearing arms. 
Each house was a citadel, which might have delayed 
and repelled the enemy ; and each street was a defile, 
which might have been defended against a host. But 
the days of Leonidas were passed ; and the next 
morning the Latins found that Murzuphlis had fled, 
and that their conquest was complete. Plunder and 
violence of course ensued ; 2 but there was much less 
actual bloodshed than either the nature of the vic- 
tory, or the dangerous position of the victors, might 
have occasioned. 

Fear is the most cruel of all passions; and perhaps, 
the fact that not two thousand persons were slain in 
Constantinople after the storm, is a greater proof of 
the courage of the Latins than even the taking of the 
city. Many noble and generous actions mingled 
with the effects of that cupidity and lust which follow 
always upon the sack of a great town. Nicetas men- 
tions a striking example which happened to himself, 
wherein a noble Venetian dedicated his whole atten- 
tion to protect an ancient benefactor ; 3 and a body of 
Frenchmen, in the midst of the unbounded licentious- 
ness of such a moment, were moved by a father's 
agony to save his daughter from some of their fellows. 
This is the admission of a prejudiced and inveterate 
enemy; and it is but fair to suppose, that many such 
instances took place. The great evils that followed 
the taking of the Eastern capital, originated in the 
general command to plunder. Constantinople had 
accumulated within it the most precious monuments 
of ancient art, 4 and these were almost all destroyed 
by the barbarous hands of an avaricious soldiery. 

1 Villehardouin ; Ducange. 2 Nicetas ; Gunther. 

3 Nicetas. 4 See note XI. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



283 



Nought was spared ; the bronzes, which, valueless 
as metal, were inestimable as the masterpieces and 
miracles of antique genius, were melted down, 1 and 
struck into miserable coin ; the marble was violated 
with wanton brutality ; all the labour of a Phidias or 
a Lysippus was done away in an hour ; and that> 
which had been the wonder and admiration of a 
world, left less to show what former days had been, 
than the earth after the deluge. 

In this the Latins were certainly barbarians ; but hi 
other respects — unless subtilty, deceit, vice, and cow- 
ardice, can be called civilization, and courage, frank- 
ness, and honour, can be considered as barbarism — 
the Latins deserved not the opprobrious name by which 
the Greeks designated them. 

The plunder of the city was enormous. In money 2 a 
sufficient sum was collected to distribute twenty marks 
to each knight, ten to each servant of arms, and five 
to each archer. Besides this, a vast quantity of jewels 
and valuable merchandise was divided between the 
French and Venetians; and the republic, who under- 
stood the value of such objects better than the simple 
Frankish soldiers, offered to buy the whole spoil from 
their comrades, at the rate of four hundred marks for a 
knight's share, and in the same proportion to the rest. 
The booty — with a few individual instances of conceal- 
ment, 3 which were strictly punished with death when 
discovered — was fairly portioned out; and, after this 
partition, the twelve persons selected to choose an em- 
peror proceeded to their deliberations. They were 
bound by oath to elect without favour the best qualified 
of the nobles; and after a long hesitation, between the 
Marquis of Montferrat and the Count of Flanders, they 
named the latter. 4 In all probability the determining 
consideration was, that Baldwin, by his immediate con- 

1 Nicetas. 2 Villehardouin ; Ducange. 3 Villehardouin.. 
4 Nicetas -> Ducange ; Villehardouin j Alberic. 



284 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



nexion with France, was more capable of supporting 
the new dynasty than the Marquis, whose Italian do- 
mains could not afford such effective aid. To prevent 
the evil consequences of rivalry, the Island of Crete, and 
the whole of Asiatic Greece, were given to Montferrat, 
who afterwards, with the consent of Baldwin, exchanged 
them for the Sclavonian territory. Baldwin was then 
raised upon a buckler, 1 and carried to the church of 
St. Sophia. After a brief space of preparation, he was 
formally proclaimed, and crowned as Emperor; and, 
according to old usage, a vase filled with ashes, 2 and 
a tuft of lighted wool, were presented to the new 
monarch, as a symbol of the transitory nature of life 
and the vanity of greatness — emblems too applicable 
to himself and his dominions; for ere two years had 
passed, Baldwin had gone down into the grave; 
and less than the ordinary life of one man elapsed 
before the dynasty that he established was again 
overthrown. 

1 Ducange. 

2 The cardinal legate invested Baldwin with the purple with 
his own hands, and Innocent confirmed, in all points, but 
those of ecclesiastical government, the treaty by which the Ve- 
netians and the Franks had bound themselves. He also took the 
greatest interest in the new state, and wrote to all the prelates 
of France and Germany to support it by their preaching and 
influence. This may be added to other proofs, that Innocent 
never seriously opposed the expedition against the schismatic 
empire of the Greeks. The truth in all probability is, that he 
made a show of turning the crusaders from their purpose, both to 
preserve consistency and to afford room for any after-exertion 
of his authority that he might judge necessary ; but that, at the 
same time, the cardinal legate very well understood that he was 
to promote the enterprise, and to be slightly blamed for it after- 
wards, in order to screen his superior from the charge of that 
ambitious craving, for which, however, he was notorious. It 
would be difficult to believe that Innocent, who triumphed 
over Philip Augustus, the greatest monarch of the day, and 
forced him to abandon his dearest wishes, would confine himself 
to idle threats, if he entertained any serious disinclination to the 
attack of Constantinople. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



285 



CHAPTER XIV. 



DIVISIONS AMONGST THE MOSLEMS — AMONGST THE CHRISTIANS — CRUSADE OF 
CHILDREN— INNOCENT III. DECLARES HE, WILL LEAD A NEW CRUSADE TO 
SYRIA— THE KING OF HUNGARY TAKES THE CROSS— ARRIVES IN SYRIA— SUC- 
CESSES OF THE PILGRIMS— THEY ABANDON THE SIEGE OF MOUNT THABOR— 
THE KING OF HUNGARY RETURNS TO EUROPE— THE DUKE OF AUSTRIA CON- 
TINUES THE WAR— SIEGE OF DAMIETTA— REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE UNDER 
A LEGATE— FAMINE IN DAMIETTA— THE MOSLEMS OFFER TO YIELD PALESTINE 
THE LEGATE'S PRIDE— HE REFUSES-MAKING OF D AMI ETTA — THE ARMY 
ADVANCES TOWARDS CAIRO — OVERFLOWING OF THE NILE — THE ARMY 
RUINED— THE LEGATE SUES FOR PEACE — GENEROUS CONDUCT OF THE 
SULTAUN— MARRIAGE OF THE HEIRESS OF JERUSALEM WITH FREDERIC, 
EMPEROR OF GERMANY— HIS DISPUTES WITH THE POPE— HIS TREATIES WITH 
THE SARACENS — HE RECOVERS 1 JERUSALEM — QUITS THE HOLY LAND — 
DISPUTES IN PALESTINE— THE TEMPLARS DEFEATED AND SLAUGHTERED— 
GREGORY IX— CRUSADE OF THE KING OF NAVARRE INEFFECTUAL— CRUSADE- 
OF RICHARD, EARL OF CORNWALL— JERUSALEM RECOVERED— THE CORASMINS 
THEIR BARBARITY— THEY TAKE JERUSALEM— DEFEAT THE CHRISTIANS WITH 
TERRIBLE SLAUGHTER— ARE EXTERMINATED BY THE SYRIANS— CRUSADE OF 
ST. LOUIS— HIS CHARACTER— ARRIVES IN THE HOLY LAND— TAKES DAMIETrA 
BATTLE OF MASSOURA— PESTILENCE IN THE ARMY— THE KING TAKEN— 
RANSOMED— RETURNS TO EUROPE— SECOND CRUSADE OF ST. LOUIS— TAKES 
CARTHAGE— HIS DEATH— CRUSADE OF PRINCE EDWARD— HE DEFEATS THE 
SARACENS— WOUNDED BY AN ASS ASSIN— RETURNS TO EUROPE — SUCCESSES- 
OF THE TURKS— LAST SIEGE AND FALL OF ACRE— PALESTINE LOST. 

The fifth crusade had ended, as we have seen, 
without producing any other benefit to Palestine, than 
a deep depression in the minds of the Turks, from the 
knowledge that the weak dynasty of the Greeks had 
been replaced by a power of greater energy and reso- 
lution. The famine also, which about this time deso- 
lated the territories of the Egyptian Sultaun ; and the 



286 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



contests 1 between the remaining Attabecs and the 
successors of Salad in, crippled the efforts of the Mos- 
lems; while the courageous activity of Jean deBrienne* 
defeated the attempts of Saif Eddin. Nevertheless, 
many bloody disputes concerning the succession of 
Antioch, and the fierce rivalry of the orders of the 
Temple and Hospital, contributed to shake the stabi- 
lity of the small Christian dominion that remained. 

Each year, 3 two regular voyages of armed and un- 
armed pilgrims took place, from Europe to the Holy 
Land : these were called, the passagium Martii, or the 
spring passage ; and the passagium Joha?inis, or the 
summer passage; which occurred about the festival 
of St. John. A continual succour was thus afforded 
to Palestine : and that the spirit of crusading was by 
no means extinct in Europe, is evinced by the extra- 
ordinary fact, of a crusade of children 4 having been 
preached and adopted towards the year 1213. Did 
this fact rest alone upon the authority of Alberic of 
Three Fountains Abbey, we might be permitted to 
doubt its having taken place, for his account is, in 
several particulars, evidently hypothetical ; but so many 
coinciding authorities exist, 5 that belief becomes mat- 
ter of necessity. 

The circumstances are somewhat obscure; but it 
seems certain, that two monks, with the design of 
profiting by a crime then too common, the traffic 
in children, induced a great number of the youth of 
both sexes to set out from France for the Holy 
Land, habited as pilgrims, with the scrip and staff. 
Two merchants of Marseilles, 6 accomplices in the 
plot, as it would seem, furnished the first body of 
these misguided children with vessels, which, of 
course, were destined to transport them for sale to 

1 Reinaud rec. des Hist. Arabes. 2 Vertot. 

3 Ducange. 4 Alberic. Mon. Trium Fontium. J 

5 Jacob, de Voragine; Albert. Stadensis. 

6 Albericus. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



287 



the African coast. Several of the ships were wrecked 
on the shores of Italy, and every soul perished, but 
the rest pursued their way and accomplished their in- 
human voyage. The two merchants, however, were 
afterwards detected in a plot against the Emperor 
Frederic, and met the fate they deserved. Another 
body, setting out from Germany, reached Genoa after 
immense difficulties ; and there the Genoese, instead 
of encouraging their frantic enthusiasm, wisely com- 
manded them to evacuate their territory; on which 
they returned to their homes, and though many died 
on the road, a great part arrived in safety, 1 and escaped 
the fate which had overtaken the young adventurers 
from France. 

When Innocent III. heard of this crusade, he is re- 
ported to have said, " While we sleep, these children 
are awake:" and it is more than probable, that this 
circumstance convinced him, that the zealous spirit 
which had moved all the expeditions to the Holy Land 
was still active and willing. Certain it is, that he very 
soon afterwards sent round an encyclical letter, calling 
the Christian world once more to arms against the 
Moslems. Indulgences were spread, and extended in 
their character: a council of Lateran was held, and 
Innocent himself declared 2 his intention of leading 
the warriors of Christ to the scene of his crucifixion. 
De Cour^on, an English monk, who had become 
cardinal, preached the new crusade with all the pomp 
of a Roman prelate, and a great number of individuals 
were gathered together for the purpose of succouring 
Palestine. But the kings of the earth had now more 
correct views of policy ; and policy never encourages 
enthusiasm except as an instrument. Only one king" 
therefore could be found to take the cross. This was 
Andrew, 3 monarch of Hungary, and the Dukes of 

1 Jacob, de Voragine ; Albert. Stadensis. 

2 Gest. Innocent III. ; Labbe concil. Matthew Paris, a.d. 1213. 

3 Chron. Godefrid. Mon. ; Bonfinius. 



288 



HISTORY" OF CHIVALRY. 



Austria and Bavaria, with a multitude of German 
bishops and nobles, joined his forces, and advanced 
to Spalatro. Innocent III. was by this time dead, but 
the expedition sailed in Venetian ships to Cyprus, 
and thence, after having given somewhat too much 
rein to enjoyment, proceeded to Acre, carrying with 
it a large reinforcement from France and Italy. 
The Saracens had heard less of this crusade than of 
those which had preceded it, and were therefore less 
prepared to oppose it. The Christian army advanced 
with success, and many thousands of the infidels felt the 
European steel; but the crusaders, not contented with 
plundering their enemies, went on to plunder their 
friends; and serious divisions began, as usual, to show 
themselves, which were only healed by the influence 
of the clergy, who turned the attention of the soldiers 
from pillage and robbery to fasts and pilgrimages. 
When the host was once more united, its exertions 
were directed to the capture of the fort, 1 built by the 
Saracens on Mount Thabor. After overcoming infinite 
difficulties in the ascent of the mountain, the Latins 
found themselves opposite the fortress : the soldiers 
were enthusiastic and spirited; and, it is more than 
probable, that one gallant attack would have rendered 
the greatest benefit to the Christian cause, by obtaining 
possession of such an important point. The leaders, 2 
however, seized with a sudden fear of being cut off, 
abandoned their object without striking a blow, and 
retired to Acre. The rest of the season was passed in 
excursions, by which the Christians obtained many 
prisoners and much spoil; and in pilgrimages, wherein 
thousands were cut to pieces by the Saracens. 
The Kings of Cyprus and Hungary then turned their 
course to Tripoli, where the first died, and the Hun- 
garian monarch 3 was suddenly seized with the desire 

1 Bernard the" Treasurer. 2 Jacob. Vitriac. ; Bernardus. 
Bernardus. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



289 



of returning to his own dominions ; 1 which he soon 
put in execution, notwithstanding' the prayers and 
solicitations of the Syrian Christians. 

Still the Latins of Palestine were not left desti- 
tute. The Duke of Austria remained, w T ith all the 
German crusaders ; and the next year a large reinforce- 
ment arrived from Cologne; nor would these have 
been so tardy in coming, had they 2 not paused upon 
the coast of Portugal to succour the queen of that 
country against the Moors. The efforts of the Chris- 
tians had proved hitherto so fruitless for the recovery 
of Jerusalem, while the Saracens could bring vast 
forces from Egypt continually to the support of their 
Syrian possessions, that the Latins now resolved to 
strike at the very source of their power. 

Damietta was supposed to command the entrance 
of the Nile, and consequently to be the key of Egypt ; 
and thither, the crusaders set sail, for the pur- 
pose of laying siege to that important city. They 3 
arrived in the month of May, and landed on the 
western bank of the river opposite to the town. A 
tower in the centre of the stream, connected with the 
w r alls by a strong chain, was the immediate object of 
attack ; but the first attempt was repulsed with great 
loss, though made by the Hospitallers, the Teutonic 
Order, and the Germans united. An immense machine 4 
of wood was now constructed on board two of the vessels, 
w r hich, lashed together, were moved across to the point 
of assault, and after a long and courageous resistance, 

1 Mere restlessness is stated by Mills to have been the cause 
of Andrew's abandonment of the enterprise, but this was any- 
thing- but the case. Andrew, it is true, was of a weak and unstable 
character ; but there were far too many dissensions in Hungary, 
and tragic horrors in his own family, to permit of his remaining 
in Palestine, without total ruin to himself and his dominions. 
— See Bonfinius. 

2 Godefrid- Mon. ; James of Vitry. 

3 Bernardus ; James of Vitry. 4 Matthew Paris. 

u 



290 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



the garrison of the castle was forced to surrender at 
discretion. 1 The besieging party then abandoned 
themselves to joy and revelry; they looked upon the 
city as taken; and the news of the death of Saif Eddin 
increased their hopes of the complete deliverance of 
the Holy Land. The victories which Saif Eddin had 
gained over the Christians were indeed but small, nor 
had he struck any one great blow against the Attabecs, 
but he had gradually, and almost imperceptibly 
extended his dominions in every direction, and left a 
large territory and full treasury to his successors. His 
high qualities were different from those of Saladin, 
and his character was altogether less noble and striking, 
but he possessed more shrewdness than his brother ; 
and if his mind had not the same capability of expand- 
ing, it had more powers of concentration. To Saif Eddin 
succeeded his two sons, Cohr Eddin and Camel, the 
first of whom took possession of Syria and Palestine in 
peace. But Egypt, which the second had governed 
for some time, instantly broke out into revolt on the 
news of his father's death, and had the Franks pushed 
the war in that country with vigour, greater effects 
would have been produced than were ever wrought 
by any preceding crusade. They neglected their op- 
portunity ; spent their time in rioting and debauchery 
under the yet unconquered walls of Damietta : and, 
after the arrival of large reinforcements from France, 
England, and Italy, under the Cardinals Pelagius 
and Courcon, the Earls of Chester and Salisbury y 
and the Counts of Nevers and La Marche, they 
only changed their conduct from revelling to dissen- 
sion, At length they awoke from their frantic dreams, 
and prepared to attack the city itself ; but before they 
could accomplish their object, Cohr Eddin had entered 

1 The whole of the siege of Damietta, and the events that fol- 
lowed, I have taken from James of Vitry and the old French of 
Bernard the Treasurer, with the Recueil des Hist. Arabes. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



291 



Egypt, put down rebellion, and re-established his 
brother Camel in full possession of his authority. The 
siege of Damietta now became like the first siege of 
Antioch, a succession of battles and skirmishes. For 
three months the various nations that composed the 
besieging force as well as the Templars, the Hospital- 
lers, and the Teutonic knights, vied with each other 
in deeds of glory ; nor were the Saracens behind their 
adversaries in courage, skill, or resolution. But famine 
took up the sword against the unhappy people of 
Damietta. Pestilence soon joined her, and the fall 
of the city became inevitable. 1 

Cohr Eddin, fearful that Jerusalem might be turned 
to a post against him, had destroyed the walls of that 
town ; but now that he saw the certain loss of Damietta,. 
and calculated the immense advantages the Christians 
might thence gain, he with the best policy agreed to 
make a vast sacrifice to save the key of his bro- 
ther's dominions. Conferences were opened with the 
Christians, and the Saracens offered, on the evacuation 
of Egypt by the Latins, to yield the whole of Pales- 
tine, except the fortresses of Montreal and Karac, to 
restore all European prisoners, and even to rebuild the 
walls of Jerusalem for the Christians. The Kino; of 
Jerusalem, the English, the French, and the Germans, 
looked upon their warfare as ended, and their object 
achieved, by the very proposal ; but the cardinal Pela- 
gius, the two military orders, and the Italians, opposed 
all conciliation, contending that no faith was to be 
put in the promises of infidels. 

Heaven only knows whether the Saracens would 
have broken their engagements, or whether calm 
moderation might not have restored Palestine to the 
followers of the cross ; but moderation was not con- 
sulted, and the walls of Damietta were once more 
attacked. It was no longer difficult to take them, and 

James of Vitry ; Bernard the Treasurer, 
u 2 



292 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



when the crusaders entered the city, they discovered 
nothing but a world of pestilence. Death was in every 
street ; and of seventy thousand souls, not three thou- 
sand were found alive. 1 

Discord, of course, succeeded conquest ; and after 
having cleansed and purified Damietta, a winter was 
spent in dissensions, at the end of which, a great part 
of the army returned to Europe ; and Jean de Brienne, 
offended by the arrogance of Pelagius, retired to Acre. 
Concessions soon brought him back, and hostilities 
were resumed against the Moslems, but the legate 
overbore all counsel ; and instead of directing their 2 
arms towards Palestine, which was now open to 
them, the crusaders marched on towards Cairo. The 
forces of the Sultaun had greatly increased, but he still 
offered peace, on conditions as advantageous as those 
that had been previously proposed. The legate in- 
sultingly rejected all terms, wasted his time in inac- 
tivity, the Nile rose, the sluices were opened, and 
Pelagius found himself at once unable to advance, and 
cut off from his resources at Damietta. There is no- 
thing too mean for disappointed pride, and the legate 
then sued in the humblest language for permission to 
return to Acre. The Sultaun of Egypt, with admirable 
moderation, granted him peace, and the King of Jeru- 
salem became one of the hostages that Damietta should 
be given up. The troops would still have perished 

1 This pestilence seems to have been somewhat like the sea- 
scurvy. It was not at all confined to the city, though it raged more 
furiously within the walls. Nevertheless many of the soldiers of the 
cross were attacked by it. James of Vitry describing its effects 
says, " A sudden pain took possession of the feet and legs: 
soon after, the gums and the teeth became affected with a sort of 
gangrene, and the sick persons were not able to eat: then, the 
bones of the legs became horribly black ; and thus, after having- 
suffered long torments, during which they showed much patience, 
a great number of Christians went to repose in the bosom of the 
Lord." 

2 James of Vitry; Bernardus. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



293 



for want, had not the noble Sultaun been melted by 
the grief of John of Brienne, who wept while recount- 
ing the distress in which he had left his people. The 
Saracen mingled his tears with those of the hostage 
king, and ordered the army of his enemy to be supplied 
with food. 1 Damietta was soon after yielded, and the 
hostages exchanged. John of Brienne retired to Acre, 
wearied of unceasing efforts to recover his nominal 
kingdom ; and Pelagius passed over into Europe, 
loaded with the hatred and contempt of Palestine. 

John of Brienne had received the crown of Jeru- 
salem as his wife's dowery, and it was destined that 
the marriage of his daughter should restore the Holy 
City to the Christians. The Emperor Frederic II. had 
often vowed in the most solemn manner to lead his 
armies into Palestine, and had as often broken his 
oath. At length it was proposed to him that he 
should wed Violante, the beautiful heiress of the 
Syrian kingdom ; and it was easily stipulated that 
John of Brienne should give up his rights on Palestine 
to his daughter's husband. Frederic eagerly caught 
at the idea. By the intervention of the Pope the treaty 
was concluded between the king and the Emperor; 
and Violante, having been brought to Europe, was 
espoused by her imperial lover. 2 Many causes com- 
bined to delay the new crusade, though it was 
preached by two succeeding Popes with all the zeal 
and promises that had led to those that went be- 
fore. France and Italy remained occupied entirely 
by intestine dissensions ; but England showed great 
zeal, and sent sixty thousand men at arms to the field. 3 
The Emperor collected together immense forces, and 
proceeded to Brundusium ; but there, being taken ill 
of a pestilential disease which had swept away many 

1 Recueil des Hist. Arabes ; Matthew Paris ; Bernard the Trea- 
surer. 

2 Bernard. 3 Matthew Paris. 



294 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



of his soldiers, he was obliged to return after having 
put to sea. Gregory IX. was now in the papal chair ; 
and — wroth with the Emperor for many a contemptuous 
mark of disobedience to the ecclesiastical authority — 
he now excommunicated him for coming back, however 
necessary the measure. Frederic was angry, though 
not frightened ; and, after having exculpated himself to 
Europe by a public letter, 1 he sent his soldiers to plun- 
der the Pope's territories while he recovered his health. 
At length, in 1228, he set sail from Brundusium, still 
burdened with the papal censure, which he was too 
much accustomed to bear, to feel as any oppressive 
load. He arrived without difficulty at Acre ; but all 
men wondered, that so great an enterprise should be 
undertaken with so small a force as that which could 
be contained in twenty galleys ; and it soon appeared 
that Frederic had long been negotiating with Camel, 
Sultaun of Egypt, who, fearful of the active and am- 
bitious spirit of his brother Cohr Eddin, 2 had entered 
into a private treaty with the German monarch. 

The Emperor, on his arrival in Palestine, found that 
the revengeful Pope had laid his injunction upon all 
men to show him no obedience, and afford him no 
aid, while under the censure of the church. 3 None, 
therefore, at first, accompanied him in his march but 
his own forces and the Teutonic knights. The Hos- 
pitallers and Templars soon followed, and, too fond of 
active warfare to remain neuter, joined themselves to 
the army on some verbal concession on the part of 
Frederic. About this time Cohr Eddin died ; and 
Camel, 4 freed from apprehension, 5 somewhat cooled 
towards his Christian ally. He was, nevertheless, too 

1 Matthew Paris, ad aim. 1228. 2 Bernadus. 

3 Rainaldus ; Sanut. ; William of Nangis, 1232. 

4 Bernard the Treasurer ; Cont. of William of Tyre. 

5 For some curious particulars concerning the disputes be- 
tween the Emperor and the Templars, see the old French of 
Bernard the Treasurer. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



295 



generous to violate his promises, and after Frederic had 
advanced some way towards Jerusalem, a treaty was 
entered into between the German monarch and the Sara- 
cens, whereby the Holy City and the greater part of 
Palestine was yielded to the Christians, with the simple 
stipulation that the Moslems were to be allowed 1 to 
worship in the temple, as well as the followers of the 
cross. 2 Frederic then proceeded to Jerusalem to be 
crowned, but the conditions he had agreed to, had given 
offence to the Christians of Judea, and the Pope's ex- 
communication still hung over his head. All the ser- 
vices of the church were suspended during his stay ; 
he was obliged to raise the crown from the altar himself 
and place it on his own brow; and he discovered, by 
messengers from the Sultaun of Egypt, that some in- 
dividuals 3 of the military orders had offered to betray 
him into the hands of the Saracens. Frederic now found 
it necessary to depart, 4 and after having done justice 

1 Bernard. 

2 This story is doubtful. Matthew Paris says, that the Tem- 
plars and Hospitallers, gave information to the Sultaun that 
Frederic would, on a certain day, make a pilgrimage to bathe in 
the river Jordan. It was not at all likely, however, that two 
orders which were always at enmity should unite for such a 
purpose. 

3 Matthew Paris, ann. 1229. 

4 There were many motives which induced Frederic to return 
to Europe, besides disgust at the ungrateful conduct of the Syrian 
Christians. The Pope, not content with using the spiritual sword 
against him, had unsheathed the temporal one, and was waging 
<a furious war against the imperial lieutenant in Italy. It would 
seem a strange fact that John of Brienne ex-king of Jerusalem, 
and father-in-law of the emperor, was in command of the papal 
forces, which ravaged his son-in-law's territories, had we not 
good reason to believe that Frederic's conduct to Violante (who 
was now dead) had been of a nature that so chivalrous a man as 
John of Brienne was not likely to pass unnoticed, when his 
daughter was the sufferer. However, it is but just to remark that 
the reason why this crusade did not entirely restore the Holy 
Land to the dominion of the Christians, is to be found in the vin- 
dictive and unchristian enmity of Pope Gregory IX, towards the 
Emperor Frederic. 



296 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



upon several of the chief contemners of his authority, 
lie set sail for Europe, leaving Palestine 1 in a far more 
favourable state than it had known since the fatal 
battle of Tiberias. 

Soon after the departure of Frederic, a new aspirant 
to the crown of Jerusalem, appeared in the person of 
Alice, Queen of Cyprus, the daughter of Isabella and 
Henry, Count of Champagne, and half-sister of Mary, 
through whom John of Brienne had obtained the 
throne. Her claims were soon disposed of ; for the 
three military orders, 2 uniting in purpose for once, 
adhered to the Emperor of Germany, and Alice was 
obliged to withdraw. After this struggle the attention 
of the Christians was entirely turned to the general 
defence ; and the right of the Emperor, who had 
now made his peace with the Pope, was universally 
recognised. 3 Nevertheless, the truce which he had con- 
cluded with Camel, the Sultaun of Egypt, did not in 
all instances save the Latins of Palestine from an- 
noyance and warfare. The whole country was sur- 
rounded by a thousand petty Mahommedan states, not 
included in the peace, and the Moslems left no oppor- 
tunity unimproved for the purpose of destroying their 
Christian neighbours. Their incursions on the Latin 
territory were incessant, and many large bodies of pil- 
grims were cut to pieces, or hurried away into distant 
lands as slaves. 

A truce had been agreed upon also, between the 
Templars and the Sultaun of Aleppo, but at the 
death of that monarch both parties had again re- 
course to arms, and the Templars were defeated with 
such terrible slaughter that all Europe was moved with 
compassion. Even their ancient rivals, the Hospi- 
tallers, sent them immediate succour ; and from the 
commandery of St. John, at Clerkenwell 4 alone, a 

1 Matthew Paris. 2 Sanutus. 

3 Regist. Greg. Noni, Vertot Preuves. 

4 Matthew Paris, 1237. 



HISTORY OP CHIVALRY. 



297 



body of three hundred knights took their departure 
for the Holy Land. 

A council likewise was held about this time at Spo- 
letto, where another crusade was announced, and Gre- 
gory IX., who combined in his person every inconsist- 
ency that ambition, bigotry, and avarice can produce,, 
sent the Dominican and Franciscan Friars to stimulate 
Europe to take the cross. No sooner had the crusade 
been preached, and the enthusiastic multitudes were 
ready to begin the journey, than Gregory and his 
agents persuaded many to compromise their vow ; 1 
and, by paying a certain sum towards the expenses of 
the expedition, to fill the papal treasury, under the 
pretence of assisting their brother Christians. Those 
who would not thus yield to his suggestions, he 
positively prohibited from setting out, and engaged 
the Emperor Frederic to throw impediments in their 
"way, when they pursued their purpose. Neverthe- 
less, the King of Navarre, the Duke of Burgundy, 
the Count of Brittany, and the Count de Bar, pro- 
ceeded to. Palestine in spite of all opposition, and 
their coming was of very timely service to the defenders 
of the Holy Land, for no sooner had the period of his 
truce with the Christians expired, than Camel, finding 
that preparations for war were making on their part, 
anticipated their efforts, retook Jerusalem, routed 
all the forces that could be opposed to him, and over- 
threw what was called the Tower of David. He died 
shortly after this victory, and on the arrival of the 
crusaders, a prospect of success seemed open be- 
fore them. But the operations of the chiefs were 
detached, and though the Count of Brittany gained 
some advantages towards Damascus, the rest of the 
French knights, were completely defeated in a pitched 
battle at Gaza, and most of their leaders were or 
taken. The King of Navarre was glad to enter into 
a disgraceful treaty with the Emir of Karac, which 
1 Matthew Paris 3 Sanutus. 



298 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



was conducted through the intervention of the Tem- 
plars ; x and the rest of the Latins formed alliances 
with what neighbouring powers they could. The 
Hospitallers, however, would not subscribe to the truce 
with the Emir of Karac 2 through jealousy towards the 
Templars, and there was no power in the state suffi- 
ciently strong to force them to obedience. 

Shortly after this event, the King of Navarre re- 
turned to Europe, and Richard, Earl of Cornwall, 
with many knights and large forces, arrived in Pales- 
tine. Their expedition had been sanctioned by all the 
authorities of Europe, except the Pope. Henry III. 
conducted them in person to the shore ; the prayers 
and benedictions of the people and the clergy followed 
them, and their journey through France was accom- 
panied by shouts and acclamations. On his arrival in 
Palestine, Richard instantly marched upon Jaffa, but 
he was met by envoys from the Sultaun of Egypt — who 
was now at war with the Sultaun of Damascus — offering 
an exchange of prisoners, and a complete cession of 
the Holy Land, 3 with some unimportant exceptions, 
Richard instantly accepted such advantageous pro- 
posals ; Jerusalem was given up to the Christians, 
the rebuilding of the walls was commenced, the 
churches were purified, and the earl returned to 
Europe with the glorious title of the deliverer of 
Palestine. The Templars would not be parties to 
this treaty, as the Hospitallers had refused to par- 
ticipate in the other ; and thus, one of the great mili- 
tary orders remained at war with the Sultaun of 
Damascus, 4 and the other with the Sultaun X)f Egypt. 

While these events had been passing in Palestine, a 
new dynasty had sprung up in the north of Asia, and 

1 Sanutus, lib. iii. page 216. 

2 The Emir of Karac was but a dependant of the Sultaun of 
Damascus. 

3 Matthew Paris ; Litterse Comit. Richardi. 

4 Sanutus 5 Vertot. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



299 



threatened a complete revolution in the whole of that 
quarter of the world. Genjis Khan and his successors 
had overturned all the northern and eastern govern- 
ments of Asia; and, spreading over that fair portion of 
the earth precisely as the Goths and Huns had spread 
over Roman Europe, had reduced the more polished 
and civilized nations of the south, by the savage vigour 
and active ferocity of a race, yet in the youth of being. 
Amongst 1 other tribes whom the successors of Genjis 
had expelled from their original abodes, was a barbarous 
and warlike horde called theCorasmins; and this people, 
wandering about without a dwelling, destroying as they 
went, and waging war against all nations, at length 
directed their course towards Palestine. So quick and 
unexpected had been their arrival, that the Christians 
employed in the re-edification of the city-walls, never 
dreamed of invasion, till fire and massacre had swept 
over half the Holy Land. 2 No troops were collected, 
no preparations made, the fortifications of the city 
were incomplete, and the only resource of the people 
of Jerusalem, was to retire in haste to the shelter of 
Jaffa, under the guidance of the few Templars and 
Hospitallers who were on the spot. Some few persons 
remained, and made an attempt at defence, but the 
town was taken in a moment, and every soul in it put 
to the sword. 3 The bloodthirsty barbarians, not satis- 
fied with the scanty number of victims they had found, 
artfully raised the banner of the cross upon the 
walls, and many of the Latins who had fled re- 
turned. Seven thousand more were thus entrapped 
and massacred ; and the Corasmins exercised every 
sort of barbarous fury on those objects they thought 
most sacred in the eyes of the Christians. 

1 Bibliotheque Oriental; Joinville; Ducange; Sanutus, 217; 
Continuation of William of Tyre. 

2 Joinville ; Matthew Paris ; Bernard in Martenne. 

3 Joinville ; Matthew Paris ; Epist. Fred. Imper. 



300 



HISTOPvY OF CHIVALRY. 



At length the fugitives at Jaffa received a succour of 
four thousand men from their allies, the Sultauns of 
Emissa and Damascus, 1 and resolved to give battle to 
the barbarians. The Patriarch of Jerusalem precipi- 
tated the measures of the army, and after a dreadful 
struggle the Latins were defeated, the Grand Masters 
of the Temple and St. John slain, the three military 
orders nearly exterminated, and the Sultaun of Emissa 
forced to fly for shelter to his fortifications. Walter 
de Brienne, the Lord of Jaffa, was taken ; and to force 
that town to surrender, the Corasmins hung the gal- 
lant knight by the arms to a cross, declaring to the 
garrison that he should there remain till the city was 
yielded. Walter heard, and raising his voice, un- 
mindful of his own agonies, solemnly commanded his 
soldiers to hold out the city to the last. 2 The bar- 
barians were obliged to retire, and Walter was sent 
captive into Egypt. 

The Sultaun of Emissa soon raised the standard a 
second time against the barbarians, and after several 
struggles, in which the monarch of Egypt sometimes 
upheld, and sometimes abandoned the Corasmins, they 
were at length entirely defeated, and not one, it is 
said, escaped from the field of battle. 3 Barbaquan, 
their leader, was slain, and thus Asia was delivered of 

1 Ducange ; Joinville ; Bernard. 

2 Bernard ; Joinville ; Matthew Paris. 

3 The whole of these events are extremely obscure in history. 
I have followed Joinville more than any other author, because 
I find his account more clear and satisfactory. Ducange's 
valuable notes have greatly aided me ; but even that indefatiga- 
ble investigator has not been able to arrive at precise certainty. 
The accounts in Matthew Paris do not well harmonize with those 
of persons who had more immediate means of information. 
Vincent of Beauvais states, that the Corasmins were finally ex- 
terminated, not in a battle, but in separate bodies by the pea- 
santry. Their whole number seems to have been about twenty 
thousand men. Bernard the Treasurer, in Martenne, corrobo- 
rates the statement of Vincent of Beauvais. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



301 



one of the most terrible scourges that had ever been 
inflicted on her. 

At this time a monarch reigned over France who 
combined in a remarkable degree the high talents of 
his grandfather Philip Augustus with the religious zeal, 
or, perhaps I may say, fanaticism, of his father, 
Louis VIII. Louis IX. was in every respect an ex- 
traordinary man ; he was a great warrior, chivalrous 
as an individual, and skilful as a general : he was a 
great king, inasmuch as he sought the welfare of his 
people more than the aggrandizement of his territories : 
he formed the best laws that could be adapted to the 
time, administered them often in person, and observed 
them always himself : he was a good man, inasmuch 
as he served God with his whole heart, and strove in 
all his communion with his fellows to do his duty ac- 
cording to his sense of obligation. Had he been 
touched with religious fervour to the amount of zeal, 
but not to the amount of fanaticism, he would have 
been perhaps too superior to his age. Previous to the 
news of the Corasminian irruption, St. Louis had deter- 
mined to visit the Holy Land in consequence of a vow 
made during sickness. 1 It appears that, after the 
signal defeat which he had given to Henry III. of 
England at Saintonge, Louis's whole attention was 
turned to the sufferings of the Christians in Palestine; 
and so deeply was his mind impressed with that 
anxious thought, that it became the subject of dreams, 
which he looked upon as instigations from heaven. 
The news of the destruction of the Christians by the 
barbarians, the well-known quarrels and rivalry of the 
two military orders, and the persuasions of Innocent IV'., 
who then held the thirteenth oecumenical council at 
Lyons, all hastened Louis's preparations. William 
Longsword and a great many English crusaders 2 joined 

^Joinville; Bernard in Martenne ; Guillaume Guiart. 
2 Matthew Paris 5 Joinvilie. 



302 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



tlie French monarch from Great Britain; and after 
three years careful attention to the safety of his king- 
dom, the provision of supplies, and the concentration 
of his forces, Louis, with his two brothers, the Counts 
of Artois and Anjou, took the scrip and staff and set sail 
for Cyprus. The third brother of the King, Alphonso, 
Count of Poitiers, remained to collect the rest of the 
crusaders, and followed shortly after. 1 The queen- 
consort of France, and several other ladies of high 
note, accompanied the monarch to the Holy Land. 2 
At Cyprus, Louis spent eight months in healing the 
divisions of the military orders, and endeavouring to 
bring about that degree of unity which had been un- 
known to any of the crusades. At length, early in 
the spring, he set sail from Cyprus with an army of 
fifty thousand chosen men. A tremendous storm sepa- 
rated the king's fleet, and, supported by but a small 
part of his troops, he arrived at Damietta, where the 
Sultaun of Egypt, with his whole force, was drawn up 
to oppose the landing of the Christians. The Sultaun 
himself was seen in golden armour, which shone, 
Joinville says, like the sun itself ; and so great was the 
noise of drums and trumpets, that the French were 
almost deafened by the sound. After some discussion, 
it was determined that the landing should be attempted 
without waiting for the rest of the army. Amongst 
the first who reached the shore was Joinville, Seneschal 
of Champagne, who, accompanied by another Baron, 
and their men at arms, landed in the face of an im- 
mense body of Turkish cavalry, that instantly spurred 
forward against them. The French planted their large 
shields 3 in the sand, with their lances resting on the rim, 
so that a complete chevaux-de-frise was raised, from 
which the Turks turned off without venturing an as- 
sault. St. Louis himself soon followed, and in his 

Joinville. 2 Guillaume Guiart ; Joinville. 

3 Joinville ; Branche des royaux Lignages. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



303 



chivalrous impatience to land, sprang into the water 
up to his shoulders, and, sword in hand, rushed on to 
charge the Saracens. 

Intimidated at the bold actions of the French, the 
Moslems fled from the beach, and as the crusaders ad- 
vanced, the unexpected news of the death of their sul- 
taun reaching the Saracens, upon which they abandon- 
ed even the city of Damietta itself, without waiting to 
destroy the bridge, though they set fire to the bazaars. 1 

At Damietta Louis paused for the arrival of his bro- 
ther, the Count of Poitiers, and the rest of the forces ; 
and here, with the usual improvidence that marked all 
the crusades, the army gave itself up to luxury and 
debauchery, which the king neither by laws nor ex- 
ample could check. At length the reinforcements 
appeared, and Louis, leaving the queen at Damietta, 
marched on towards Cairo, but near Massoura he found 
his advance impeded by the Thanisian canal, on the 
other side of which, the Saracens were drawn up to 
oppose his progress under the command of the cele- 
brated Emir Ceccidun. No other means of passing 
the canal seemed practicable, but by throwing a cause- 
way across. This was accordingly commenced, under 
cover of two high moveable towers, called chats chattels, 
or cat-castles, which were scarcely raised, before they 
were burnt by quantities of Greek fire, thrown from 
the pierriers and mangonels. 

At length an Arabian peasant agreed, for a large 
bribe, to point out a ford. The Count of Artois, with 
fourteen hundred knights, was directed to attempt it. 
He succeeded, repulsed the Saracens on the banks, and 
pursued them to Massoura. The panic amongst the 
Moslems was general, and Massoura was nearly de- 
serted. The more experienced and prudent knights of 
all classes advised the Count of Artois to pause for the 
arrival of the king and the rest of the army. The 



1 Joinville. 



304 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



Count, with passionate eagerness, accused his good 
counsellors of cowardice. Chivalrous honour thus 
assailed forgot reason and moderation ; each one more 
ardently than another advanced into Massoura : the 
Moslems, recovered from their fear, returned in great 
numbers; the fight began in earnest, and almost the 
whole of the imprudent advance-guard of the Christians 
was cut to pieces. The Count of Artois fell amongst the 
first ;* and when Louis himself arrived, all was dismay 
and confusion. The battle was now renewed with re- 
doubled vigour ; Louis fought in every part of the strife, 
and the French and Saracens seemed emulous of each 
other in the paths of glory and destruction. The sun 
went down over the field of Massoura, leaving neither 
army assuredly the victors ; but the Saracens had been 
repulsed, and Louis remained master of the plain. 

Sickness and famine soon began to rage in the 
Christian camp. The Moslems had now interrupted the 
communication with Damietta ; and every soldier in 
the army was enfeebled by disease. Negotiations were 
begun for peace ; but were broken off, because the 
Sultaun would receive no hostage for the evacuation 
of Damietta but Louis himself ; and it was determined 
to attempt a retreat. Many strove to escape by the 
river, but were taken in the attempt ; and the host 
itself was incessantly subject to the attacks of the 
Saracens, who hung upon its rear during the whole 
march, cutting off every party that was detached, 
even to procure the necessaries of life. In this dread- 
ful state Louis long continued to struggle against 
sickness, fighting ever where danger was most im- 
minent, and bearing up when the hardiest soldiers 
of his army failed. At length he could hardly sit his 
horse ; and in the confusion of the flight — which was 
now the character of the retreat — he was separated 
from his own servants, and attended only by the 

^oinville; Guillaunie Guiart 5 Ducange. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



305 



noble Geoffroy de Sergines, who defended him against 
all the attacks of the enemy, he was led to a hut at 
the village of Cazel, where he lay, expecting every 
moment that the plague would accomplish its work. 
He was thus taken by the Saracens, 1 who assisted 
in his recovery, and treated him with honour. The 
greater part of the army fell into the Moslems' power, 
but an immense number were slain and drowned in 
attempting their escape. 

Several difficulties now arose with regard to the 
ransom of the King ; the Saracens demanding the 
cession of various parts of Palestine still in the hands 
of the Christians. This, however, Louis refused ; and 
conducted himself in prison with so much boldness, 
that the Sultaun declared he was the proudest infidel 
he had ever beheld. To humble him to his wishes, 
the torture of the bernicles was threatened ; 2 but the 
monarch remained so unmoved, that his enfranchise- 
was at last granted on other terms. Ten thousand 
golden besants were to be paid for the freedom of the 
army ; the city of Damietta was to be restored to the 
Saracens, and a peace of ten years was concluded. 
During the interval which followed these arrangements, 
the Sultaun was assassinated, and the fate of St. Louis 
was again doubtful ; but the murderers agreed to the 
same terms which had been before stipulated. Never- 
theless, some acts of cruelty were committed ; and a 
great number of the sick were massacred at Damietta. 
The treasure which the King possessed on the spot 
not being sufficient to furnish the whole ransom, his 
friends were obliged to seize upon the wealth of the 
Grand Master of the Temple, who basely refused to lend 
a portion to redeem his fellow-christians. At length 
the first part of the sum was paid ; the great body 
of the foreign nobles, who had joined in the crusade, 

1 Joinville ; Ducange ; Guillaume Guiart. 

2 See note XII. 



306 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



returned to Europe, and Louis himself retired to 
Acre. The Saracens had already broken the treaty 
"with Louis by the murder of the sick at Damietta, 
and by the detention of several knights and soldiers, 
as well as a large body of Christian children. The 
promise of peace, therefore, was not imperative, and 
the Sultaun of Damascus eagerly courted the French 
King to aid him in his efforts against the people of 
Egypt. 1 The news of this negotiation immediately 
brought deputies from Egypt, who submitted to the 
terms which Louis thought fit to propose ; and that 
monarch, without mingling in the wars that raged 
between the two Moslem countries, only took advan- 
tage of them to repair the fortifications of Jaffa and 
Cesarea. After having spent two years in putting the 
portion of Palestine that yet remained to the Latins, 2 
into a defensible state, he set sail for France, where 
his presence was absolutely required. 

Before proceeding to trace the after-fate of the Holy 
Land, 3 it may be as well to conduct St. Louis to his 
last crusade. Sixteen years after his return to Europe, 
that monarch once more determined on rearing the 
banner of the cross. Immense numbers flocked to 
join him, and England appeared willing to second all 
the efforts of the French King. Edward, the heir of 
the English monarchy, assumed the cross, and large 
sums were raised through Britain for defraying the ex- 
penses of the war. 

In 1270, St. Louis, accompanied by the flower 
of his national nobility, and followed by sixty thou- 
sand chosen troops, set sail for Palestine, but was 
driven by a storm into Sardinia. Here a change 
in his plans took place; and it was resolved that 
the army should land in Africa, where the King of 
Tunis some time before had professed himself favour- 

1 Ducange; Joinville; Guillaume Guiart, 

2 a.d. 1254. 3 a.d. 1270. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



307 



able to the Christian religion. St. Louis had "been 
long so weak, that he could not bear the weight 
of his armour, 1 nor the motion of a horse, for any 
length of time; but still his indefatigable zeal sus- 
tained him ; and after a short passage, he arrived on 
the coast of Africa, opposite to the city of Carthage. 

Although his coming had been so suddenly re- 
solved, 2 a large Mahommedan force was drawn up to 
oppose his landing ; but the French knights forced 
their way to the shore, and after a severe contest, 
obtained a complete victory over the Moors. Siege 
was then laid to Carthage, which was also taken ; but 
before these conquests could be turned to any advan- 
tage, an infectious flux began to appear in the army. 
St. Louis was one of the first attacked. His en- 
feebled constitution was not able to support the effects 
of the disease, and it soon became evident that the 
monarch's days were rapidly drawing to their close. 
In this situation, with the most perfect consciousness 
of his approaching fate, St. Louis called his son 
Philip, 3 and spoke long to him on his duty to the 
people he left to his charge ; teaching him with the 
beautiful simplicity of true wisdom. The King then 
withdrew his thoughts from all earthly things, per- 
formed the last rites of his religion, and yielded his 
soul to God. 4 

Scarcely was the monarch dead, when Charles of Sicily 
arrived with large reinforcements, and unknowing the 
event, approached Carthage with martial music, and 
every sign of rejoicing. His joy was soon turned into 
grief by the tidings of his brother's fate ; 5 and the 
courage of the Moors being raised by the sorrow of 
their enemies, the united armies of France and Sicily 

1 Joinville. 2 Guillaume Guiart. 3 Joinville. 

4 Branche des royaux et Lignages ; Sermon de Robert de Sain- 
cereaux. 

5 Charles, King 7>f Sicily, was brother to St. Louis, 

x 2 



308 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



were attacked by a very superior power. After a 
variety of engagements, Philip, now King of France, 
and Charles, of Sicily, compelled the defeated Moors 
to sue for peace ; and collecting his troops, the new 
monarch returned to Europe, driven from the coast 
rather by the pestilence that raged in his army, 1 than 
by the efforts of the infidels. 

Prince Edward of England had taken the cross, as 
I have already said, with the intention of following 
Louis IX. to the Holy Land; and with the small 
force he could collect, amounting to not more than 
fifteen hundred men, he arrived in the Mediterranean, 
but hearing that Louis had turned from the direct 
object of the crusade, he proceeded to Sicily, where 
he passed the winter. 

As soon as spring rendered navigation possible, he 
set sail, and arrived at Acre, where he found the state 
of Palestine infinitely worse than it had been since 
the first taking of Jerusalem. 

Disunion and violence had done far more to destroy 
the Christians of the Holy Land than the swords of 
the infidels. The two military Orders had been con- 
stantly opposed to each other, and had often been 
engaged in sanguinary warfare. The knights of St. 
John had ever the advantage ; and at one time the 
Templars of Palestine had nearly been exterminated. 
The clergy attempted to encroach upon the privileges 
of both. The different Italian republics, who had 
secured to themselves various portions of territory, 
and various commercial immunities were in continual 
warfare ; and while the Saracens and the Mamelukes 
were gradually taking possession of the whole soil — 
while the fortresses of Cesarea, Jaffa, and Saphoury, 
fell into the hands of the infidels, as well as all the 
cities and feofs of the Latins, except Acre and Tyre — 
the sands of Palestine were often wet with Christian 



Guillaume_ Guiart ; William of Nangis. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



309 



blood, shed by the hands of Christians. Antioch also 
fell almost without resistance, and the citizens were 
either doomed to death or led into captivity. 

Such was the state of the Holy Land at the time of 
Prince Edward's arrival. His name, however, was- 
a host : the disunion amongst the Christians was- 
healed by his coming; 1 every exertion was made to 
render his efforts effectual ; and he soon found him- 
self at the head of a small but veteran force, amount- 
ing to seven thousand men. With this he advanced 
upon Nazareth, and after a severe conflict with the 
Moslems, he made himself master of that city, in which 
all the Saracens that remained were slaughtered 
without mercy. The climate put a stop to his suc- 
cesses. It was now the middle of summer, and the 
excessive heat brought on a fever, from which Ed- 
ward was recovering, when a strange messenger desired 
to render some despatches to the prince's own hand. 
He was admitted ; and as the young leader lay in his 
bed, without any attendants, he delivered the letters, 
and for a moment spoke to him of the affairs of Jaffa. 
The instant after, he drew a dagger from his belt, 
and before Edward was aware, had stabbed him 
in the chest. The prince was enfeebled, but was still 
sufficiently vigorous to wrench the weapon from the 
assassin, and to put him to death with his own hand. 
His attendants, alarmed by the struggle, rushed into 
the apartment, and found Edward bleeding from the 
wound inflicted by a poisoned knife. Skilful means 5 
were instantly used to preserve his life, 3 and an anti- 
dote, sent by the Grand Master of the Temple, is said 
to have obviated the effects of the poison. Edward's 

! 1 Hemingford ; Langtoft ; Matthew Paris, continuation. 

2 The popular version of this story is, that Eleonora, the wife 
of^the prince, who had accompanied him to Palestine, sucked the 
poison from the wound, at the risk of her own life. Camden 
sanctions this account. 

3 Hemingford ; Langtoft. 



310 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



natural vigour, with care, soon restored him to health; 
and the Sultaun of Egypt, daunted by the courage 
and ability of the English prince, and engaged in 
ruinous wars in other directions, offered peace on ad- 
vantageous conditions, which were accepted. Edward 
and his followers returned to Europe, and the Chris- 
tians of Palestine were left to take advantage of a ten 
years' truce. 

Such was the end of the last expedition. In 1274, 
Gregory X., who had himself witnessed the sorrows of 
Palestine, attempted to promote a new crusade, and 
held a council for that purpose at Lyons, where many 
great and noble personages assumed the cross. The 
death of the Pope followed shortly afterwards, and the 
project was abandoned, on the loss of him who had 
given it birth. In Palestine, all now tended to the 
utter expulsion of the Christians. The Latins them- 
selves first madly broke the truce, by plundering some 
Egyptian merchants near Margat. Keladun, then 
Sultaun of Cairo, hastened to revenge the injury, and 
Margat was taken from the Christians, after a gallant 
defence. 1 Tripoli, which had hitherto escaped, by 
various concessions to the Moslems, fell shortly after 
Margat ; and in the third year from that period, two 
hundred thousand Mahommedans were under the walls 
of Acre, the last possession of the Christians. The 
Grand Master of St. John had collected together a 
small body of Italian mercenaries, but no serviceable 
support could be won from the kings of Europe. 

The Grand Master 2 of the Temple, however, with 
the rest of the military orders, and about twelve thou- 
sand men, being joined by the King of Cyprus, re- 
solved to undergo a siege. The greater part of the 
useless inhabitants were sent away by sea, and the 
garrison prepared to defend themselves to the last. 
This was the final blaze of chivalric valour that shone 

1 Villani ; Vet. Script. ; Bernard, old French. 

2 Martenne ; Villani. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



311 



on the Holy Land. The numbers of the Moslems were 
overpowering, and after a breach had been made in 
the wails by the fall of what was called the cursed 
Tower, a general assault took place. The King of 
Cyprus made a dastardly flight, but the Templars and 
the Tuetonic knights died where they stood, and the 
Hospitallers only left the city to attack the rear of the 
besieging army. Here they met with infinite odds 
against them, and fell man by man, till the news came 
that the Grand Master of the Temple was killed and that 
the city was taken. The Hospitallers then, reduced to 
seven in number, reached a ship, and quitted the shores 
of Palestine. About an equal number of Templars fled 
to the interior, and thence fought their way through 
the land, till they gained the means of reaching 
Cyprus. The inhabitants of the city, who had not be- 
fore departed, fled to the sea; 1 but the elements 
themselves seemed to war against them, and ere they 
could escape, the Saracen sword died the sands with 
their blood. The Moslems then set fire to the devoted 
town, and the last vestige of the Christian power in 
Syria was swept from the face of the earth. 



Martenne, Vet. Script. ; Villani ; Sanutus. 



312 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



CHAPTER XV. 



FATE OF THE ORDERS OF THE TEMPLE AND ST. JOHN — THE TEMPLARS ABANDON 
ALL HOPES OF RECOVERING JERUSALEM— MINGLE IN EUROPEAN POLITICS- 
OFFEND PHILIP THE FAIR— ARE PERSECUTED—CHARGES AGAINST THEM— 
; THE ORDER DESTROYED— THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN PURSUE THE PURPOSE 
OF DEFENDING CHRISTENDOM— SETTLE IN RHODES— SIEGE OF RHODES- 
GALLANT DEFENCE— THE ISLAND TAKEN— THE KNIGHTS REMOVE TO MALTA 
— SIEGE OF MALTA— LA VALETTE — DEFENCE OF ST. ELMO— GALLANTRY OF 
THE GARRISON— THE WHOLE TURKISH ARMY ATTEMPT TO STORM THE 
CASTLE— THE ATTACK REPELLED— ARRIVAL OF SUCCOUR— THE SIEGE RAISED 
—THE PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY INDEPENDENT OF THE CRUSADES— CH1VAL- 
j ROUS EXPLOITS— BENEFICIAL TENDENCY OF CHIVALRY— CORRUPTION OF 
THE AGE NOT A r ITRIBUTABLE TO CHIVALRY— DECLINE OF THE INSTITUTION 
—IN GERMANY, ENGLAND, FRANCE— ITS EXTINCTION. 

Prom the period of the fall of Acre, crusades were 
only spoken of; but the spirit of Chivalry was perhaps 
not the less active, though it had taken another course : 
nor did it lose in purity by being directed, mode- 
rated, and deprived of the ferocity which always fol- 
lows fanaticism. The Holy Land had become a place 
of vice and debauchery, as well as a theatre for the 
display of great deeds and noble resolution; and we 
find, that however orderly and regular any army was 
on its departure from Europe, it soon acquired all the 
habits of immorality and improvidence which seemed 
some inherent quality of that unhappy climate. This 
was peculiarly apparent in the two Orders of the Hos- 
pital and the Temple, the rules of which were particu- 
larly calculated to guard against luxury of every kind; 
yet, the one, till its extinction, and both, during their 
sojourn in Palestine, were the receptacle of more 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



313 



depravity and crimes than perhaps any other body of 
men could produce. After the capture of Acre the 
knights of these two Orders retreated to Cyprus ; and 
when some ineffectual efforts had been made to excite 
a new crusade for the recovery of Palestine, the Tem- 
plars retired from that country, and, spreading them- 
selves throughout their vast possessions in Europe, seem 
really to have abandoned all thought of fighting any 
more for the sepulchre. With the rest of Europe, they 
spoke of fresh expeditions it is true, but in the mean 
while they gave themselves up to the luxury, pride, and 
ambition, which, if it was not the real cause of their 
downfal, at least furnished the excuse. Philip the 
Fair of France, on his accession to the throne, showed 
great favour to the Templars, 1 and held out hopes that 
he would attempt to establish the Order once more in 
the land which had given it birth. But the Templars 
were now deeply occupied in the politics of Europe 
itself : their haughty Grand Master was almost equal 
to a king in power, and would fain have made kings 
his slaves. In the disputes between Philip and Boni- 
face VIII., the Templars took the part of the Pope, 
and treated the monarch, in his own realm, with inso- 
lent contempt : but they knew not the character of him 
whose wrath they roused. Philip was at once vindic- 
tive and avaricious, and the destruction of the Templars 
offered the gratification of both passions : he was also 
calm, bold, cunning, and remorseless; and from the 
vengeance of such a man it was difficult to escape. 
The vices of the Templars were notorious, 2 and on these 

1 Raynouard. 

2 For the history of the Templars, see Raynouard and DuPuy, 
Vertot, William of Nangis, HistoriaTemplariorum, &c. Almost 
all the modern writers are more or less in favour of the Tem- 
plars, while every contemporary authority condemns them. As 
to Mills's assertion, that they were loyal and virtuous, it is per- 
fectly untenable. All the historians of the Holy Land, many of 
whom died while the Templars were at the height of their power, 
declare that they were a corrupt, proud, perfidious body. Mills 



314 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



it was easy to graft crimes of a deeper dye. Reports, 
rumours, accusations, circulated rapidly through Eu- 
rope; and Philip, resolved upon crushing the unhappy 
Order, took care that on the very first vacancy, his 
creature, Bertrand de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux, 1 
should be elevated to the papal throne. Before he 
suffered the ambitious Prelate to be elected, he bound 
him to grant five conditions, four of which were ex- 
plained to him previously, but the fifth was to be kept 
in secrecy till after his elevation. Bertrand pledged 
himself to all these terms; and as soon as he had 
received the triple crown, was informed that the last 
dreadful condition was the destruction of the Order of 
the Temple. He hesitated, but was forced to consent; 
and after various stratagems to enveigle all the prin- 
cipal Templars into France, Philip caused them sud- 
denly to be arrested throughout his dominions, 2 and 
had them arraigned of idolatry, immorality, extortion, 
and treason, together with crimes, whose very name 
must not soil this page. Mixed with a multitude of 
charges, both false and absurd, were various others too 
notorious to be confuted by the body, and many which 
could be proved against individuals. Several mem- 
bers of the Order confessed some of the crimes laid 
to their charge, and many more were afterwards in- 
duced to do so by torture ; but at a subsequent period 
of the trial, when the whole of the papal authority was 
used to give the proceeding the character of a regular 
legal inquisition, a number of individuals confessed, on 
the promise of pardon, different offences, sufficient to 
justify rigorous punishment against themselves, and 
to implicate deeply the institution to which they 
belonged. James de Mollay, however, the Grand 
Master, firmly denied every charge, and defended 

himself shows that such was the opinion entertained of them by 
the Saracens ; and all the general letters of the popes accuse 
them of manifold vices and depravities. 
1 Vertot. Will, of Nangis. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



315 



himself and his brethren with a calm and dignified 
resolution that nothing could shake. 

It would be useless as well as painful to dwell upon all 
the particulars of their trial, where space is not allow- 
ed to investigate minutely the facts : it is sufficient to 
say that the great body of the Templars in France were 
sentenced to be imprisoned for life, and a multitude 
were burnt at the stake, where they showed that 
heroic firmness which they had ever evinced in the 
field of battle. Their large possessions were of course 
confiscated. In Spain, their aid against the Moors 
was too necessary to permit of similar rigour, and 
they were generally acquitted in that country. In 
England, the same persecutions were carried on, 
but with somewhat of a milder course: and the last 
blow was put to the whole by a council held at Vienne, 
which formally dissolved the Order, and transferred its 
estates to the Hospitallers. James de Mollay and the 
Grand Prior of France were the last victims, and 
were publicly burnt in Paris for crimes that, beyond 
doubt, they did not commit. To suppose that the 
Templars were guilty of the specific offences attributed 
to them, would be to suppose them a congregation of 
madmen; but to believe they were a religious or a 
virtuous order, would be to charge all Europe with a 
general and purposeless conspiracy. 

In the mean while, the knights Hospitallers confined 
themselves to the objects for which they were origin- 
ally instituted ; and, that they might always be prepared 
to fight against the. enemies of Christendom, they ob- 
tained a cession of the island of Rhodes, from which 
they expelled the Turks. Here they continued for 
many years, a stumblingblock in the way of Moslem 
conquest ; but at length, the chancellor of the Order, 
named d'Amaral, 1 disappointed of the dignity of grand 
master, in revenge, it is said, invited the Turks to the 



1 Vertot. 



316 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



siege, and gave them the plan of the island with its 
fortifications. Soliman II. instantly led an army against 
it, but the gallant knights resisted with a deter- 
mined courage that drove the imperious Sultaun almost 
to madness. He commanded his celebrated general, 
Mustapha, to be slain with arrows, 1 attributing to him 
the misfortune of the siege; and at length had begun to 
withdraw his forces, when a more favourable point of 
attack was discovered, and the knights were ultimately 
obliged to capitulate. The city of Rhodes was by this 
time reduced to a mere heap of stones, and at one period 
of the siege, the Grand Master himself remained thirty- 
four days in the trenches, without ever sitting down to 
food, or taking repose, but such as he could gain upon 
an uncovered mattress at the foot of the wall. So noble 
a defence well merited an honourable fate; and even 
after their surrender, the knights were the objects 
of admiration and praise to all Europe, though Eu- 
rope had suffered them to fall without aid. The Sul- 
taun, before he allowed the Order to transfer itself to 
Candia, which had been stipulated by the treaty, re- 
quested to see the Grand Master: and to console 
him for his loss, he said " The conquest and the fall 
of empires are but the sports of fortune." He then 
strove to win the gallant knight who had so well defend- 
ed his post, to the Ottoman service, holding out to 
him the most magnificent offers, and showing, what little 
cause he had to remain attached to the Christians, 2 wha 
had abandoned him; but Villiers replied, that he thank- 
ed him for his generous proposals, yet that he should 
be unworthy of such a prince's good opinion if he could 
accept them. 

Before the Order of St. John could fix upon any de- 
terminate plan of proceeding, it was more than once 

1 He was afterwards pardoned when the Sultaun's wrath had 
abated ; hut Soliman would never see him more. 

2 Vertot. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



317 



threatened with a complete separation, by various divi- 
sions in its councils. 

At length motives, partly political, partly generous, 
induced the Emperor Charles V. to offer the island of 
Malta to the Hospitallers. This proposal was soon 
accepted, 1 and after various negotiations the territory 
was delivered [up to the knights, who took full pos- 
session on the 26th of October,! 530. Thirty-five years, 
had scarcely passed, when the Order of St. John,wdiich 
was now known by the name of the Order of Malta, 
was assailed in its new possession by an army com- 
posed of thirty thousand veteran Turkish soldiers. 
The news of this armament's approach had long 
before reached the island, and every preparation had 
been made to render its efforts ineffectual. The 
whole of the open country was soon in the hands of 
the Turks, and they resolved to begin the siege by the 
attack of a small fort, situated at the end of a tongue 
of land which separated the two ports. The safety of 
the island and the Order depended upon the castle of 
St. Elmo — a fact which the Turkish admiral well knew, 
and the cannonade that he soon opened upon the for- 
tress was tremendous and incessant. The knights, who 
had been thrown into that post, soon began to demand 
succour; but the Grand Master, LaV alette, treated their 
request with indignation, and speedily sent fresh troops 
to take the place of those whom fear had rendered weak. 

A noble emulation reigned amongst the Hospitallers, 
and they contended only which should fly to the peri- 
lous service. A sortie was made from the fort, and the 
Turks were driven back from their position ; but the 
forces of the Moslems were soon increased by the ar- 
rival of the famous Dragut ; and the succour which 
the viceroy of Sicily had promised to the knights, did 
not appear. After the coming of Dragut, the siege 
of St. Elmo was pressed with redoubled ardour. A 



1 Watson ; Vertot ; Nic. Villagagnoru 



318 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



ravelin was surprised, and a lodgment effected ; and 
the cavalier, which formed one of the principal fortifi- 
cations, had nearly been taken. Day after day, night 
after night, new efforts were made on either part; 
and the cannon of the Turks never ceased to play 
upon the walls of the fort, while, at the same time, the 
ravelin which they had captured was gradually raised 
till it overtopped the parapet. The whole of the outer 
defences were now exposed : the garrison could 
only advance by means of trenches and a subterranean 
approach ; and to cut off even these communications 
with the parapet, the Pacha threw across a bridge from 
the ravelin, covering it with earth to defend it from fire. 

After this, the mine and the sap both went on at 
once ; but the hardness of the rock was in favour of 
the besieged, and by a sortie, the bridge was burnt. 1 
In a wonderfully short time it was reconstructed ; 
and the terrible fire from the Turkish lines, not only 
swept away hundreds of the besieged, but ruined the 
defences and dismounted the artillery. In this state 
the knights sent a messenger to the Grand Master, re- 
presenting their situation, showing that the recruits 
they received, only drained the garrison of the town,, 
without protracting the resistance of a place that 
could stand no longer, and threatening to cut their 
way through the enemy if boats did not come to take 
them off. La Valette knew too well their situation ; 
but he knew also, that if St. Elmo were abandoned, 
the viceroy of Sicily would never sail to the relief of 
Malta ; and he sent three commissioners to examine 
the state of the fort, and to persuade the garrison to 
hold out to the last. Two of these officers saw that 
the place was truly untenable, but the third declared it 
might still be maintained ; and, on his return, offered 
to throw himself into it with what volunteers he could 
raise. La Valette instantly accepted the proposal, and 



1 Vertot 5 Com. de Bel. Mel. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



319 



wrote a cold and bitter note to the refractory knights 
in St. Elmo, telling them that others were willing to 
take their place. " Come back, my brethren/' he 
said ; " you will be here more in safety ; and, on 
our part, we shall feel more tranquil concerning the 
defence of St. Elmo, on the preservation of which de- 
pends the safety of the island and of the Order." 

Shame rose in the bosom of the knights ; and, mor- 
tified at the very idea of having proposed to yield a 
place that others were willing to maintain, they now 
sent to implore permission to stay. 

LaValette well knew, from the first, that such would 
be their conduct ; but, before granting their request, 
he replied, that he ever preferred new troops who were 
obedient, to veterans, who took upon themselves to 
resist the will of their commanders ; and it was only 
on the most humble apologies and entreaties that 
he allowed them, as a favour, to remain in the post 
of peril. From the 17th of June to the 14th of July, 
this little fort 1 had held out against all the efforts of 
the Turkish army, whose loss had been already im- 
mense. Enraged at so obstinate a resistance, the 
Pacha now determined to attack the rock on which it 
stood, with all his forces ; and the Grand Master, per- 
ceiving the design by the Turkish movements, took 
care to send full supplies to the garrison. Amongst 
other things thus received were a number of hoops 
covered with tow, and imbued with every sort of in- 
flammable matter. For the two days preceding the 
assault, the cannon of the Turkish fleet and camp 
kept up an incessant fire upon the place, which left 
not a vestige of the fortifications above the surface of 
the rock. On the third morning the Turks rushed 
over the fosse which they had nearly filled, and at the 
given signal mounted to storm. The walls of the 
place were gone, but a living wall of veteran soldiers 



1 Vertot; Com. de Bel. Mel. ; Nic. Villag. ; Watson. 



320 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



presented itself, each knight being supported by three 
inferior men. With dauntless valour the Turks threw 
themselves upon the pikes that opposed them ; and after 
the lances had been shivered and the swords broken, 
they were seen struggling with their adversaries, and 
striving to end the contest with the dagger. A terrible 
fire of musketry and artillery was kept up ; and the 
Christians, on their part, hurled down upon the swarms 
of Turks that rushed in unceasing multitudes from 
below, the flaming hoops, which sometimes linking two 
or three of the enemy together, set fire to the light and 
floating dresses of the east, and enveloped many in a 
horrible death. Still, however, the Turks rushed on, 
thousands after thousands, and still the gallant little 
band of Christians repelled all their efforts, and main- 
tained possession of the height. 

From the walls of the town, and from the castle of 
St. Angelo, the dreadful struggle for St. Elmo was 
clearly beheld ; and the Christian people and the 
knights, watching the wavering current of the fight, 
felt perhaps more painfully all the anxious horror of 
the scene, than those whose whole thoughts and feel- 
ings were occupied in the actual combat. La Valette 
himself stood on the walls of St. Angelo, not spending 
his time in useless anticipations, but scanning eagerly 
every motion of the enemy, and turning the artillery 
of the fortress in that direction where it might prove 
of the most immediate benefit. At length he beheld 
a body of Turks scaling a rampart, from which the 
attention of the besieged had been called by a furious 
attack on the other side. 1 Their ladders were placed, 
and still the defenders of St. Elmo did not perceive 
them — they began their ascent — they reached the top 
of the rampart — but at that moment the Grand Master 
opened a murderous fire upon them from the citadel, 
and swept them from the post they had gained. The 



t * Watson; Vertot; Com. de Bel. Mel. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



321 



cavalier was next attacked ; but here also the Turks 
were met by those destructive hoops of fire which 
caused more dread in their ranks than all the other 
efforts of the Christians. Wherever they fell confusion 
followed ; and at the end of a tremendous fight of nine 
hours, the Moslems were obliged to sound a retreat. 

A change of operations now took place ; means 
were used to cut off the communication with the 
town ; and, after holding out some time longer, the 
fort of St. Elmo was taken, the last knight of its 
noble garrison dying in the breach. The whole force of 
the Turks was thenceforth turned towards the city ; and 
a slow but certain progress was made, notwithstanding 
all the efforts of the grand master and his devoted 
companions. In vain he wrote to the viceroy of Sicily; 
no succour arrived for many days. The town was 
almost reduced to extremity. The bastion of St. Ca- 
therine was scaled, and remained some time in the 
hands of the infidels, who would have maintained it 
longer, had not La Valette himself rushed to the spot ; 
and, after receiving a severe wound, succeeded in 
dislodging the assailants. 

A small succour came at length under the com- 
mand of Don Juan de Cardonna ; but this was over- 
balanced by the junction of the viceroy of Algiers with 
the attacking force. The bulwark of all Christendom was 
being swept away, while Christian kings stood looking 
on, and once more saw the knights of St. John falling 
man by man before the infidels, without stretching 
forth a hand to save them. 

A large army had, in the mean while, been assem- 
bled in Sicily, under the pretence of assisting Malta : 
and at last the soldiers clamoured so loudly to be led 
to the glorious service for which they had been en- 
rolled, that the vacillating viceroy, after innumerable 
delays was forced to yield to their wishes, and set sail 
for the scene of conflict. 1 The island was reached in 
Vertot. 



322 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



safety, the troops disembarked ; and, though the Turks 
still possessed the advantage of numbers, a panic seized 
them, and they fled. Joy and triumph succeeded 
to danger and dread, and the name of La Valette and 
his companions, remains embalmed amongst the memo- 
ries of the noble and great. 

This was the last important event in the history of 
the Order of St. John ; and since that day, it has gra- 
dually descended to later years, blending itself with 
modern institutions, till its distinctive character has 
been lost, and the knights of Malta are reckoned 
amongst the past. 

It does not seem necessary to trace the other military 
fraternities, which originated in the crusades, to their 
close ; but something more must be said concerning 
the progress of Chivalry in Europe, and the effect that 
it had upon society in general. The Holy Wars were, 
indeed, the greatest eff orts of knighthood ; but during 
the intervals between each expedition beyond the seas, 
and that which followed ; and often during the time of 
preparation, the knight found plenty of occupation for 
his sword in his own country. The strife with the 
Moors in Spain bore entirely the aspect of the cru- 
sades, but the sanguinary conflicts between France 
and England offered continual occasions both for the 
display of knightly valour and of knightly generosity. 
The bitterest national enmity existed between the two 
countries — they were ever engaged in struggling against 
each other; and yet we find, through the whole, that 
mutual courtesy when the battle was over ; and, in the 
times of truce, that frank co-operation, or that rivalry 
in noble efforts, which belonged so peculiarly to 
Chivalry. Occasionally, it is true, a cruel and blood- 
thirsty warrior would stain his successes with ungene- 
rous rigour — for where is the institution which has ever 
been powerful enough to root out the evil spot from 
the heart of man I But the great tone of all the wars 
of Chivalry was valour in the field and courtesy in the 



HISTORY OP CHIVALRY. 



323 



"hall. Deeds were often done in the heat of blood, 
which general barbarism of manners alone would ex- 
cuse ; and most of the men whom we are inclined to 
love and to admire, have left some blot on that page 
of history which records their lives. But to judge of 
the spirit of the Order, we must not look to those in- 
stances where the habits of the age mixed up a vast 
portion of evil with the general character of the knight, 
but we must turn our eyes upon those splendid ex- 
amples, where chivalrous feeling reached its height, 
did away all the savage cruelty of the time, and 
aised human actions almost to sublimity. 

Remarking these instances, and seeing what the spirit 
of Chivalry could produce in its perfection, we may 
judge what the society of that day would have been 
without it : we may trace truly the effect it had in ci- 
vilizing the world, and we may comprehend the noble 
legacy it left to after-years. Had Chivalry not existed, 
all the vices, which we behold in that period of the 
world's history, would have been immensely increased ; 
for there would have been no counteracting incite- 
ment. The immorality of those times would have 
been a thousand degrees more gross, for passion would 
have wanted the only principle of refinement ; the 
ferocity of the brave would have shown itself in darker 
scenes of bloodshed, for no courtesy would have 
tempered it with gentleness. Even religion would have 
longer remained obscured ; for the measures taken to 
darken it, by those whose interest it was to make it 
a means of rule, would have been but faintly opposed, 
had not Chivalry, by softening the manners of the age, 
and promoting general communication between man and 
man, gradually done away darkness and admitted light. 

Because knights were superstitious, it has been 
supposed that superstition was a part of knight- 
hood ; but this was not at all the case. The gross 
errors grafted by the Roman church on the pure 
doctrine of salvation, often taught the knight cruelty, 



324 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



and disgraced Chivalry, by making it the means of 
persecution ; but the tendency of the Order itself was 
to purify and refine, and the civilization thereby given 
to the world in general, ultimately produced its effect 
in doing away superstition. The libertinism of society 
in the middle ages has also been wrongly attributed to 
knighthood, and thus the most beneficial institutions 
are too often confounded with the vices that spring up 
around them. That the fundamental doctrine of 
Chivalry, if I may so express myself, was decidedly 
opposed to every infraction of morality, is susceptible 
of proof. In all authors who have collected the pre- 
cepts of Chivalry, we find sobriety and continence en- 
joined as amongst the first duties of a knight: and 
female chastity was so particularly esteemed, that we 
are told by the Chevalier de la Tour, if a lady of 
doubtful virtue presented herself in company with the 
good, whatever were her rank, the knights would cause 
her to give place to those of unsullied fame. From every 
thing that I can read or hear, I am inclined to believe 
that the virtues of the knights of old arose in the Order 
of Chivalry alone, and that their faults belonged to the 
age in which they lived. 1 

In common with all human institutions, Chivalry 
presents a new aspect in every page of the book of 
historv. Sometimes it is severe and stern ; sometimes 
light and gay ; but the qualities of valour, courtesy, and 
enthusiasm, shine out at every period of its existence. 

At the battle of Crecy, Edward the Black Prince, 
then fourteen years of age, fought for his knightly 
spurs ; and his father, King Edward III., from a 
mound near the mill, beheld his gallant son sur- 
rounded on every side by enemies. The companions 
of the young hero sent to the King for succour, al- 
leging the dangerous situation of the Prince of Wales; 

1 Jouvencel ; Ordre de Chevalerie ; Fabliaux de le Grand 
<d'Aussi ; Chevalier de la Tour ; Notes on St. Palaye. 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



325 



on which Edward demanded, " Is he dead, or over- 
thrown, or so wounded that he cannot continue to 
fight ?" And on being informed that his son still lived, 
he added, " Return to him, and to those who sent 
you, and tell them, whatever happens, to seek no aid 
from me so long- as my son be in life. Further say, 
that I command them to let the boy well win his 
spurs ; for, please God, the day shall be his, and the 
honour shall rest with him." 1 

In this instance, Edward required no more from his 
child than he was willing in his own person to endure. 
No one ever evinced more chivalrous courage than 
that monarch himself ; and in the skirmish under the 
walls of Calais, he fought hand to hand with the fa- 
mous De Ribaumont, who brought him twice upon 
his knee, but was at length vanquished by the Kin^. 
After the battle, Edward entertained his prisoners in 
the town; and when supper was concluded the victo- 
rious monarch approached his adversary, took the 
chaplet of rich pearls from his own brow, placed it on 
the head of De Ribaumont, and said, " Sir Eustace, 
I give this wreath to you, as the best of this day's 
combatants, and I beg you to wear it a year for my 
love. I know that you are gay and gallant, and will- 
ingly find yourselves where ladies are. Tell them 
then, wherever you may be, that I gave you this token ; 
and, moreover, I free you from your prison. Go to- 
morrow, if it please you/' 2 

Such was the character of knighthood ; and whether 
we read anecdotes like the above, or trace in the rolls 
of history the feats of an Edward the Black Prince, of 
a Duguesclin, of a Talbot, a Henry, or a Bayard, we 
find the same spirit; varied, indeed, according to the 
mind of the individual, but raising all his virtues 
to the highest pitch of perfection, and restraining all 
his faults as much as human errors can be restrained . 



1 Froissart, chap. 290. 2 Ibid., chap. 329. 



326 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



It would be endless to detail all those marvels which 
Chivalry at various times effected ; nor have I space 
to dwell upon Crecy, or Poitiers, or Agincourt. With 
respect to those great battles, where England was so 
eminently triumphant, it is sufficient to point out the 
extraordinary fact, that though the glory rested with 
the British, no disgrace attached to their enemies. 
Each knight in the French armies did every thing that 
personal valour could do to win the field ; and the 
honour to England consists not so much in having 
conquered, as in having conquered such opponents. 
For long, however, it appears that the French com- 
manders were inferior to the English in skill, and 
that their forces were destitute of that unity which 
alone secures success. At length, the son of a noble- 
man of Brittany, who had been much neglected in 
his early years, began to make head against the 
English. From his infancy Bertrand Duguesclin had 
shown the most persevering passion for arms, which 
had been always repressed ; till at a tournament — 
from the neighbourhood of which he had been purposely 
sent away- he appeared in disguise, defeated all that 
encountered him, and was only discovered by re- 
fusing to meet his own father. From that hour Du- 
guesclin rose in the estimation of the world ; and after 
opposing, with considerable success, Edward the 
Black Prince himself, on the death of that noble 
commander he delivered the greater part of France 
from the domination of the English. 

One of the favourite schemes of Duguesclin was to 
restore to Chivalry its ancient simplicity, and he strove 
by every means to enforce the more severe and salutary 
laws by which it had been originally governed. Of 
course an institution, which had vast privileges and 
obligations, was not without rewards and punishments; 
and many of these were revived by Duguesclin after 
he had become Constable of France. 

The custom of cutting the tablecloth with a knife 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



327 



or dagger before a knight who had in any way degraded 
himself, 1 is said, by some, to have been brought into 
use by Duguesclin, though others affirm that he only 
renewed an ancient habit. Much more severe inflic- 
tions, also, were destined for those who had dishonoured 
the order to which they belonged by cowardice, 
treachery, or any other unmanly crime. The criminal, 
condemned to be stripped of his knighthood, was 
placed upon a scaffold in the sight of the populace, 
while his armour was broken to pieces before his face. 
His shield reversed, with the coat of arms effaced, was 
dragged through the dirt, while the heralds proclaimed 
aloud his crime and his sentence. The king at arms 
then, thrice demanded his name ; and at each time, 
when the pursuivant replied, the king added, " A 
faithless and disloyal traitor !" A basin 2 of hot water 
was poured upon the culprit's head, to wash away 
the very memory of his knighthood ; and, being drawn 
on a hurdle to the church, he was covered with a pall, 
while the funeral prayers were pronounced over him, 
as one dead to honour and to fame. 

Notwithstanding every means taken to uphold it, 
Chivalry gradually declined from the beginning of the 
fourteenth century. In England the long civil wars 
between the houses of York and Lancaster called into 
action a thousand principles opposed to knightly 
courtesy and generosity. Many flashes of the chival- 
rous spirit blazed up from time to time, it is true, but 
the general character of those contentions was base 
and interested treachery on all parts. 

The mean and avaricious spirit which seized upon 
Henry VII. in his latter years, of course had its effect 
on his court and country ; and the infamous extortions 
of his creatures, Empson and Dudley, the ruin which 
they brought upon many of the nobility, and the dis- 
gust and terror which their tyranny spread through the 



1 Alain Chartier ; Le Grand. 



2 La Colombiere Theatre. 



328 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



land, served to check all those pageants and exercises 
which kept alive the sinking flame of Chivalry. 
Henry VIII., in the vigour of his youth, made vast 
-efforts to give back to knighthood its ancient splendour, 
*but the spirit had been as much injured as the external 
form, and though he could renew the one, he could 
not recall the other. The wavering tyranny of his old 
age, also, did more to extinguish the last sparks of 
knightly feeling, than his youth had done to revive the 
pomp of Chivalry. Then came the Reformation, and 
a new enthusiasm grew up through the land. 

In Germany the reign of the emperor Maximilian 
was the last in which Chivalry can be said to have 
existed. Charles V. reduced all things to calcula- 
tion, and though the name of knighthood remained, 
it soon became nothing but a sound. 

The land which had given birth to the institution 
cherished it long ; and there its efforts were conti- 
nually reawakened even in its decline. During the 
unhappy reign of Charles VI., France, torn by fac- 
tions, each struggling for the sceptre of the insane 
monarch, saw Chivalry employed for the purposes of 
ambition alone. While all parties turned their arms 
against their fellow-countrymen, a stranger seized on 
the power for which they fought, and the English house 
of Lancaster seated itself on the throne of France. 
Charles VII. succeeded to a heritage of wars; but, 
apparently wreckless, from the desperate state of his 
dominions, he yielded himself wholly to pleasure, 
without striking a blow for the recovery of his king- 
dom, till Joan of Arc recalled him to glory and him- 
self. From that moment Chivalry again revived, and no 
period of French history presents knighthood under a 
brighter aspect than during the wars of Charles VII. 
At the same time, however, an institution was founded 
which soon changed the character of Chivalry, and in 
the end reduced it to a name. 

The inconveniences attached to the knightly mode 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



329 



of warfare were many and striking : order and disci- 
pline were out of the question ; and though courage did 
much, Charles VII. saw that courage well directed 
would do infinitely more. To establish therefore a body ? 
over which he might have some control, he raised;^ 
company of gendarmerie, which soon by its courage 
and its success drew into its own ranks all the great 
and noble of the kingdom. Thus came a great change 
over the Order ; knights became mere soldiers, and 
Chivalry was used as a machine. Louis XI. contri- 
buted still more to do away Chivalry, by depressing 
the nobility and founding a standing army of merce- 
nary troops. Charles VIII. and Louis XII. by ro- 
mantic wars in Italy, renewed the fire of the waning 
institution; and Francis I., the most chivalrous of 
kings, beheld it blaze up under his reign like the last 
flash of an expiring flame. He, however, unwittingly 
aided to extinguish it entirely, and by extending knight- 
hood to civilians, deprived it of its original character. 
The pomps and pageants, the exercises and the games, 
which had accompanied the Order from its early days, 
were now less frequent : Popes had censured them as 
vain and cruel, and many Kings had discountenanced 
them as expensive and dangerous ; but the death of 
Henry II., from a wound received at a tournament, 
put an end to them in France : and from that time all 
the external ceremonies of Chivalry were confined to 
the reception of a knight into any of the royal Orders. 

The distinctive spirit also had, by this time, greatly 
merged into other feelings. The valour was as much 
the quality of the simple soldier as of the knight ; 
the courtesy had spread to society in general, and 
had become politeness; the gallantry had lost its 
refinement, and had deteriorated into debauchery. 
Faint traces of the lost institution appeared from 
time to time, especially in the wars of Henry IV. 
and the League. The artful and vicious policy of 
Catherine de Medicis did much to destroy it; the 



330 



HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. 



filthy effeminacy of Henry III. weakened it, in com- 
mon with all noble feelings ; and the iron rod of 
Richelieu, struck at it as a remnant of the feudal power. 
Still a bright blaze of its daring valour shone out in 
Conde, a touch of its noble simplicity appeared in 
Turenne, but the false brilliancy of Louis XIV. com- 
pleted its downfal ; and Chivalry is only to be seen 
by its general effects on society. 

Thus things fleet by us ; and in reading of all the 
great and mighty deeds, of which this book has given 
a slight and imperfect sketch, and looking on the 
multitudes of men who have toiled and struggled 
through dangers, difficulties, and horrors, for the 
word glory, the empty echo of renown, or perhaps 
a worse reward, I rise as from a phantasmagoria, 
where a world of strange and glittering figures have 
been passing before my eyes, changing with the ra- 
pidity of light, and each leaving an impression for 
memory, though the whole was but the shadow of a 
shade. 



NOTES. 



NOTE I. — CHAP. I. 

Menestrier enters into a disquisition on the subject of the 
two interpretations given to the word miles, which would have 
interrupted the thread of my discourse too much to permit of 
its introduction in the text. I subjoin it here, however, as a 
good guide for those who may be inclined to pursue the subject 
further. 

" II ne faut pas done confondre le titre d'ancienne noblesse, ou 
de noblesse militaire, avec la dignite de chevalier, par l'equivoque 
du terme Latin miles, qui convient a Fun et a 1 'autre : ce que 
n'ont pas assez observe quelques autheurs, qui n'ont pas fait 
reflexion que dans la plupart des actes ecrits en langue Latine, 
ce mot signifie egalement ces deux differentes choses. 

u L'Empereur Frederic avoit deja distingue ces deux especes de 
Chevalerie, lorsqu'il fit une ordonnance a, Naples, l'an 1232, que 
personne ne se presentat pour recevoir l'ordre de Chevalerie, 
s'il n'estoitjd'une ancienne race militaire, ou d'ancienne Cheva- 
lerie. Ad militarem honorem nullus accedat, qui non sit de 
genere militum ; L'une de ces Chevaleries est done genus militare, 
race de Chevalerie ; l'autre militaris honor, honneur de Chevale- 
rie, qui n'ont este' confondues que par quelques autheurs, qui, 
ecrivans de cette matiere sans l'entendre, n'ont fait que l'em- 
broiiiller, au lieu de la developper. 

" Roger, Roy de Sicile et de Naples, fit une ordonnance, que 
nul ne put recevoir l'ordre de Chevalerie, s'il n'estoit de race 
militaire. Sancimus itaque, et tale proponimus edictum, ut 
quicumque novam militiam acceperit, il l'appelle nouvelle Che- 
valerie, pour la distinguer de celle de la naissance, sive quo- 



332 



NOTES. 



cumque tempore arripuerit y contra regni leatitudinem, pacern y 
atque integritatem, a militice nomine, et professionepenitiis de- 
cidat, nisi forte a militari genere per successionem duxit prosa- 
piam." — Menestrier ; Preuves, chap. 1. 

NOTE II. — CHAP. II. 

St. Palaye, in the body of his admirable essays upon Chi- 
valry, names the day preceding that of the tournament as the 
one on which squires were permitted to joust with each other ; 
but in a note he has the following passage, which shows that in 
this, as in almost every other respect, the custo ms of Chivalry 
varied very much at different epochs. 

" Les usages ont varie par rapport aux tournois, suivant les 
divers temps de la Chevalerie. Dans les commencements les 
plus anciens chevaliers joutoient entre eux, et le lendemain de 
cette joute les nouveaux chevaliers s'exercoient dans d'autres 
tournois, auxquels les anciens chevaliers se faisoient un plaisir 
d'assister en qualite de spectateurs. La coutume changea de- 
puis : ce fut la veille des grands tournois que les jeunes che- 
valiers s'essayerent les uns contre les autres, et Ton permit aux 
^cuyers de se meler avec eux. Ceux-ci etoient recompenses par 
Tordre de la Chevalerie, lorsqu'ils se distinguoient dans ces 
sortes de combats. Ce melange de chevaliers et d'ecuyers in- 
troduisit dans la suite divers abus' dans la Chevalerie, et la fit 
bient6t"deg£neVer, comme le remarque M. Le Laboureur. Les 
ecuyers usurperent successivement et par degr^s les honneurs et 
les distinctions qui n'appartenoient qu'aux chevaliers, et peu-a^ 
peu ils se confondirent avec eux." — Note on St. Palaye. 

This note is perfectly just in the statement that in aftertimes 
the distinctions between knights and squires were not so strictly 
maintained as in the early days of Chivalry. At the famous 
jousts between the French and English at Chateau Joscelin, as 
related by Froissart, we find the squires opposed to the knights 
upon perfectly equal terms. The limits of this book are too 
narrow to admit of many long quotations ; but the passage will 
be found well worthy the trouble of seeking, in the sixty-fourth 
chapter of the second book of the admirable Froissart. 



NOTES. 



333 



NOTE III. — CHAP. II. 

To show the manner in which reports of all kinds were spread 
and collected, even as late as the days of Edward III., I haye 
subjoined the following extract from Froissart, giving an account 
of his reception at the court of the Count de Foix. It also 
affords a naive picture of that curious simplicity of manners 
which formed one very singular and interesting trait in the 
Chivalry of old. 

<( Comment Messire Jean Froissart enqutroit diligemment cora- 
ment les Guerres s'etoient parties par toutes les parties de la 
France. 

" Je me suis longuement tenu a parler des besognes des loin- 
taines marches, mais les prochaines, tant qu'a maintenant, m'ont 
^te si fraiches, et si nouvelles, et si inclinants a, ma plaisance, 
que pour ce les ai mises arriere. Mais, pourtant, ne sejour- 
noient pas les vaillants homines, qui se desiroient a avancer ens 
[dans] on [le] royaume de Castille et de Portugal, et bien autant 
en Gascogne et en Rouergue, en Quersin [Quercy] , en Auvergne, 
en Limousin, et en Toulousain, et en Bigorre ; mais visoient et 
subtilloient [imaginoient] tous les jours Tun sur F autre com- 
ment ils se pussent trouver en parti de fait d'armes, pour prendre, 
embler [enlever] , et echeller villes, et chateaux, et forteresses. 
Et pour ce, je sire Jean Froissart, qui me suis ensoingne [etudie] 
et occupe* de dieter et ecrire cette histoire, a la requete et con- 
templation de haut prince et renorame' Messire Guy de Chatillon, 
Comte de Blois, Seigneur d'Avesnes, de Beaumont, de Scoon- 
hort, et de la Gende, mon bon et souverain maitre et seigneur ; 
considerai en moi-meme, que nulle esperance n'etoit que aucuns 
faits d'armes se fissent es parties de Picardie et de Flandre, 
puisque paix y etoit, et point ne voulois etre oiseux ; car je 
savois bien que encore au temps a venir, et quand je serai mort, 
sera cette haute et noble histoire en grand cours, et y prendront 
tous nobles et vaillants hommes plaisance et exemple de bien 
faire; et entrementes [pendant] que j'avois, Dieu merci, sens, 
m^moire, et bonne souvenance de toutes les choses passees, engin 
[esprit] clair et aigu pour concevoir tous les faits dont je pour- 
rois etre inform^, touchants a ma principale matiere, age, corps 
et membres pour souffrir peine, me avisai que je ne voulois mie 



334 



NOTES. 



sojourner de non poursieure [poursuivre] ma matiere ; et pour 
savoir la verite des lointaines besognes sans ce que j'y envoyasse 
aucune autre personne en lieu de moi, pris voie et achoison 
[occasion] raisonnable d'aller devers haut prince" et redoute 
seigneur, Messire Gaston, Comte de Foix et de Berne [B^arn] ; 
et bien scavois que si je pouvois venir en son li6tel, et la etre a, 
loisir, je ne pourrois mieux cheoir au monde, pour etre inform^ 
de toutes nouvelles ; car la sont et frequentent volontiers tous 
chevaliers et £cuyers etranges, pour la noblesse d'icelui haut 
prince. Et tout ainsi, comrae je Pimaginai, il m'en advint ; et 
remontrai ce, et le voyage que je voulois faire, a mon tres cher 
et redoute seigneur, Monseigneur] le comte de Blois, lequel 
me bailla ses lettres de familiarite adressants au Comte de Foix. 
Et tant travaillai et chevauchai en qu^rant de tout c6t£s nou- 
velles, que, par la grace de Dieu, sans peril et sans dommage, 
je vins en son chatel, a Ortais [Orthez], au pays de Bearn, le 
jour de Sainte Catherine, que on compta pour lors en l'an de 
grace mil trois cent quatre-vingt et huit ; lequel comte de Foix, 
si tres tot comrae il me vit, me fit bonne chere, et me dit en 
riant en bon Francois : que bien il me connoissoit, et si ne 
m'avoit oncques mais vu, mais plusieurs fois avoit oui parler 
de moi. Si me retint de son hotel et tout aise, avec le bon 
moyen des lettres que je lui avois apportees, tant que il m'y plut 
a etre ; et la fus informe de la greigneur [majeure] partie des 
besognes qui etoient avenues au royaume de Castille, au royaume 
de Portugal, au royaume de Navarre, au royaume d'Aragon, et 
au royaume d'Angleterre, au pays de Bordelois, et en toute la 
Gascogne ; et je meme, quand je lui demandois aucune chose, 
If le me disoit moult volontiers ; et me disoit bien que l'histoire 
que je avois fait et poursuivois seroit, au temps a venir, plus 
recommandee que mille autres 1 : ' Raison pourquoi,' disoit-il, 
* beau maitre : puis cinquante ans en 9a sont avenus plus de 
faits d'armes et de merveilles au monde qu'il n'etoit trois cents 
ans en devant.' 

" Ainsi fus-je en Photel du noble comte de Foix, recueilli et 
nourri a ma plaisance. Ce etoit ce que je d^sirois a enquerre 
toutes nouvelles touchants a ma matiere : et je avois prets a la 
main barons, chevaliers, et ecuyers, qui m'en informoient, et 
le gentil comte de Foix aussi. Si vous voudrois eclaircir par 
beau Iangage tout ce dont je fus adonc informe, pour rengrosser 



NOTES. 



335 



notre matiere, et pour exemplier les bons qui se desirent a 
avancer par armes. Car si ci-dessus j'ai prologue' grands faits 
d'armes, prises et assauts de villes et de chateaux, batailles 
adressees et durs rencontres, encore en trouverez-vous ensuivant 
grand, foison, desquelles et desquels, par la grace de Dieu, je 
ferai bonne et juste narration." — Froissart, book iii. chap. L 

note iv. — CHAP. II. 

As the Brotherhood of Arms was one of the most curious cus- 
toms of Chivalry, I have extracted from the Notes on St. Palaye, 
and from the Disquisitions of Ducange, some passages which, 
will give a fuller view of its real character and ceremonies than, 
seemed necessary in the body of this work. 

The Notes on St. Palaye, also, show to how late a period the 
custom descended ; and here let me say, that of all the treatises 
on Chivalry which I possess, there is none in which I have found 
the real spirit of knighthood so completely displayed, as in the 
Essays of Lucurne de St. Palaye, with the elegant and profound 
observations of M. Charles Nodier. 

" Les Anglois, assembles peu avant la bataille de Pontvalain ? 
tiennent conseil pour deliberer comment ils attaqueroient le 
eonnetable Duguesclin. Hue de Carvalai, Pun d'entre eux, 
ouvre son avis en ces termes : ' Se m'aist dieux, Bertran est 
le meilleur chevalier qui regne a present ; il est due, comte et 
connestable, et a este long-temps mon compaignon en Espaigne, 
ou je trouvay en luy honneur, largesse et amistie si habundam- 
ment et avecques ce hardement, fierte vasselage et emprise, 
qu'il n'a homme jusques en Calabre qui sceut que j'amasse 
autant a veoir ne accompaigner de jour ou de nuit pour moy 
aventurer a vivre ou a mourir ne fust ce qu'il guerrie, Mon- 
seigneur le prince. Car en ce cas je dois mettre poyne de le 
nuyre et grever comme mon ennemi. Si vous diray mon advis/ 
(Hist, de Bert. Duguesclin, publie par Menard, p. 407.) 

"Boucicaut, passant a. son retour d'Espagne par le comte 
de Foix, se trouva plusieurs fois a boire et a manger avec des- 
Anglois. Comme ils jugerent a des abstinences particulieres 
qu'ils lui virent faire dans ses repas, qu'il avoit voue quelque 
entreprise d'armes, ils lui dirent que s'il ne demandoit autre 
chose on auroit bien-t6t trouve qui le delivreroit ; Boucicaut 



336 



NOTES. 



leur repondit : 'yoirement estoit-ce pour combattre a oultrance, 
mais qu'il avoit compaignon ; c'estoit un chevalier nomme 
Messire Regnault de Roye, sans lequel L il ne pouvoit rien faire, 
et toutes fois s'il y avoit aucun d'eulx qui voulussent la bataille, 
il leur octroyoit et que a leur volonte prissent jour tant que il 
l'eust faict a scavoir a son compaignon.' — (Histoire du Martchal 
de Boucicaut, publiee par Godefroi, p. 51.) 

" Lorsque le prince de Galles eut declare la guerre au roi Henri 
de Castille, il manda a tous les Anglois qui £toient alors au 
service de ce prince de le quitter pour se rendre aupres de lui. 
Hue de Carvalai, qui £toit du nombre, oblige de se separer de 
Bertrand, vint lui faire ses adieux : 1 Gentil sire, lui dit-il, il 
nous convient de partir nous avons este ensemble par bonne 
compaignie, comme preudomme, et avons to uj ours eu du vostre 
a nostre voulente* que oncques n'y ot noise ne tancon, tant des 
avoirs conquestez que des joyaulx donnez, ne oncques n'en 
demandasmes part, si pense bien que j'ay plus receu que vous, 
dont je suis vostre tenu. Et pour ce vous pris que nous en 
comptons ensemble. Et ce que je vous devray, je vous paieray 
ou assigneray. Si dist Bertran, ce c'est qu'un sermon, je n'ay 
point pense a ce compte, ne ne scay que ce puet monter. Je ne 
scay se vous me devez, ou si je vous doy. Or soit tout quitte 
puisque vient au departir. Mais se de cy en avant nous acreons 
Tun k l'autre, nous ferons nouvelle depte et le convendra 
escripre. II n'y a que du bien faire, raison donne que vous 
(suiviez) vostre-maistre. Ainsi le doibt faire tout preudomme. 
Bonne amour fist 1' amour de nous et aussi en fera la departie : 
dont me poise qu'il convient que elle soit. Lors le baisa Ber- 
tran et tous ses compagnons aussi : moult fut piteuse la departie.* 
(Historie de Bertrand Duguescliriy publiee par Menard, c. xxiv. 
p. 248 et249.) 

" Duguesclin tomba dans la suite au pouvoir des Anglois, qui 
le retinrent long-temps prisonnier. Apres avoir enfin obtenu |sa 
liberte sous parole d'acquitter sa rancon, Carvalai, son ancien 
frere d'armes, qu'il avoit retrouve, et qui pendant quelque 
temps lui tint bonne compagnie, voulut lui parler encore du 
compte qu'ils avoient a regler ensemble. 4 Bertran, dit-il a son 
ami avant que de se separer nous avons este* compagnons ou 
pays d'Espangne par de la de prisons, et d'avoir (c'est-a-dire en 
socie'te tant pour les prisonniers que pour le butin que nous 



NOTES. 



337 



aurions) dont je ne comptay oncques a, vous et spay bien de 
pieca que je suis vostre term (redevable, en reste avec vous) 
dont je vouldray avoir advis : mais de tout le moins je vous 
aideray ici de trente mille doubles d'or. Je ne scay, dit Ber- 
tran, comment il va du compte, mais que de la bonne com- 
pagnie ; ne je n'en vueil point compter ; mais se j'ay mestier je 
vous prieray. Adonc baisierent li uns l'autre au departir.' — 
(Ibid., p. 306.) 

" L' Adoption en frere se trouue auoir este pratiquee en deux 
manieres par les peuples Strangers, que les Grece et les Latins 
qualifient ordinairement du nom de Barbares. Car parmy ceux 
dont les moeurs et les facons d'agir ressentoient effectiuement 
quelque chose de rude et d'inhumain, elle se faisoit en se piquant 
reciproquement les veines, et beuuant le sang les vns des autres. 
Baudoiiin Comte de Flandres et Empereur de Constantinople 
reproche cette detestable coutume aux Grecs memes, non qu'ils 
en vsassent entre eux : mais parce que dans les alliances qu'ils 
contractoient auec les peuples barbares, pour s'accommoder a 
leurs manieres d'agir, ils estoient obligez de suiure leurs vsages, 
et de faire ce qu'ils faisoient ordinairement en de semblables 
occasions. H&c est, ce dit-il, qua spurcissimo gentilium ritu 
j?ro fraterna societate, sanguineus alternis ebibitis, cum in- 
jidelibus scepe ausa est amicitias firmare ferales. L'Empereur 
Frederic I. auoit fait auparauant ce mesnie reproche aux Grecs, 
ainsi que nous apprenons de Nicetas. Mais ce que les Grecs 
firent par necessity, nos Francois qui estoient resserrez dans 
Constantinople, et attaquez par dehors de toutes parts, furent 
contraints de le faire, et de subire la raeme loy, en s'accommo- 
dant au temps, pour se parer des insultes de leurs ennemis. 
C'est ce que le Sire de Joinuille dit en ces termes : A iceluy 
Cheualier oiii dire, et comme il le disoit au Roy, que PEmpereur 
de Constantinoble, et ses gens, se allierent vne fois d'vn Roy, 
qu'on appelloit le Roy des Comains, pour auoir leur aide, pour 
•conquerir l'Empereur de Grece, qui auoit nom Vataiche. Et 
disoit iceluy Cheualier, que le Roy du peuple des Comains pour 
auoir seurte* et fiance fraternel l'vn l'autre, qu'il faillit qu'ils et 
chascun de leur gens d'vns part et d'autre se fissent saigner, et 
que de leur sang ils donnassent a boire l'vn a l'autre, en signe 
de fraternity, disans qu'ils estoient frere, et d'vn sang, et ainsi 
le conuint faire entre nos gens, et les gens d'iceluy Roy, et 
z 



338 



SOTES. 



meslerent de leur sang auec du vin, et en beuuoient l'rn a 
l'autre, et disoient lors qu'ils estoient freres d'vn sang. Georges 
Pachymeres raconte la m£me chose des Comains. Et Alberic en 
Pan 1187, nous fait assez voir que cette coutume eut pareille- 
ment cours parmy les Sarazins, ecriuant que la funeste alliance 
que le Comte de Tripoly contracta auec le Sultan des Sarazins, 
se fit auec cette cer^monie, et qu'ils y burent du sang l'vn de 
l'autre. - -- -- -- -- - 



" Cette fraternite se contractoit encore par 1'attouchement des 
armes, en les faisant toucher reciproqueinent les vnes aux autres. 
Cette coutume estoit particuliere aux Anglois, auant que les 
Normans se rendissent maitres de l'Angleterre, principalement 
lorsque des communautez entieres faisoient entre eux vne alliance 
fraternelle, en vsans de cette maniere, au lieu du changement 
reciproque des armes, qui n'auroit pas pu s'executer si facile- 
ment. --------- 



"Mais entre tant de ceremonies qui se sont obseruees pour 
contracter vne fraternite, celle qui a este pratiqu^e par les 
peuples Chretiens, est la plus plausible et la plus raisonnable : 
car pour abolir et pour eteindre entierement les superstitions qui 
les accompagnoient, et qui tenoient du paganisme, ils en ont 
introduit vne autre plus sainte et plus pieuse en la contractant 
dans l'Eglise, deuant le Pretre, et en faisant reciter quelques 
prieres ou oraisons, nous en auons la formule dans VEucholo- 
gium." 

note V. — CHAP. III. 

The fear Robert Guiscard was no chimera ; for, after hav- 
ing raised himself from indigence to power and authority, he 
opposed successfully the whole force of two great monarchies^ 
and defeated alternately the emperors of the east and the west. 

One of the most pointed accounts of this extraordinary free- 
booter which I have met with, I subjoin from the Melanges 
Curieux. 

" Robertus Wischardi'de Normania exiens, vir pauper, miles 
tamen, ingenio et probitate* sua Apuliam, Calabriam suae ditioni 
submisit, et Insulam Sicilian! de manu Ismaelitarum liberavit^ 



NOTES. 



339 



Rotgeriurnque fratrem suum ejusdem Insulse Comitem appella- 
vit. Demum mare transiens, Durachium urbem nobilem cepit, 
Dalmatiamque et Bulgarian! super Alexium Imperatorem ac- 
quisivit : insuper eum ter bello fugavit, et Romanum Henricum 
serael ab urbe fugere compulit, Pontificemque Romanum, quern 
ceperat, ab eo liberavit. Qui cum innumerabilia pene fecisset 
probitatis indicia, hoc de illo constans habetur, quod nisi morte 
praeoccupatus fuisset, filium suum Boamundum Imperatorem 
faceret, se vero Regem Persarum, ut ssepe dicebat, constitueret, 
viamque Hierosolymorum destructa paganitate Francis aperiret. 
Munquam victus est, quanquam sa^pe pugnaverit. Venetos, qui 
contra eum omni virtute sua convenerant cum stolo suo ita 
profligavit, ut nec fuga, nec pelagus illis esset auxilio. Nec fuit 
terrarum locus ita remotus, in quo rumor, fama, timor Wis- 
chardi per omnium fere ora non volitaret. Et ut verms de ec 
dici potest, nulli Regum aut Imperatorum Wischardus secundus 
extitit." — Pere VAbbe. 



NOTE VI. — CHAP. III. 

This cry was not the only cry of arms which the crusaders 
used in the Holy Land. Though it was the general battle-cry 
of the whole army, and each leader made use of it occasionally 
when he wanted to animate the whole host, by rousing up their 
old enthusiasm ; yet when he sought to bring round him his own 
vassals, he used the appropriate shout of his family. Thus we 
find, by Raimond d'Agiles, that the battle-cry of Raimond de 
St. Gilles was " Toulouse /" 

The best general account of the old cry of arms which I have 
met with, is given by Ducange. 

81 Le cry d'armes n'est autre chose qu'vne clameur conceue 
en deux ou trois paroles, prononcee au commencement ou au 
fort du combat et de la melee, par un chef, ou par tous les 
soldats ensemble, suivant les rencontres et les occasions : lequel 
cry d'armes estoit particulier au general de Parnate ou au chef 
de chaque troupe. 



" Les Francois que se trouuerent a la premiere conque'te de la 
Terre Sainte avoient pour cry general ces mots, Adjuua Deus, 
ainsi que nous apprenons de Foucher de Chartres, et d'vn autre 
z 2 



340 



NOTES. 



ancien Auteur ou bien, Eia Deus adiuua nos, suivant PHistoire 
de Hierusalem. Raymond d'Agiles rapporte la cause et 
l'origine de ce cry a la vision de Pierre Barthelemy, qui trouua 
la sainte Lance au temps que les Turcs assiegeoient la ville 
d'Antioche sur les nostre : car durant ce siege S. Andre luy 
estant apparu plusieurs fois, il luy enjoignit de persuader aux 
Chretiens d'auoir recours a Dieu dans les fatigues du siege, et 
de la faim qu'ils enduroient, et de prendre dans les combats 
pour cry d'armes ces mots Deus adjuua: et sit signum clamoris 
vestri, Devs adjuva, et reuera Deus adjuvabit ros, qui sont les 
paroles de S. Andre\ Roderic Archeuesque de Tolede dit qu'au 
si£ge et a la prise de Cordoue sur les Sarrazins d'Espagne, les 
Chretiens crierent aussi Deus adjuva. lis ajoustoient quelque- 
fois a ce cry ces mots Deus vult, ou pour parler en langage du 
temps, et suiuant qu'ils sont enoneez en la Chronique du Mont 
Cassin, Diex el volt, dont l'origine est rapportee au Concile de 
Clermont en Auuergne, oil le Pape Urbain II. ayant fait vne 
forte exhortation pour porter les princes Chretiens a prendre les 
armes pour aller retirer la Terre Sainte des mains des Infideles, 
Ita omnium qui aderant affectus in vnum concitauit, vt omnes 
acclamarent, Deux volt, Deus volt. Apres quoy le pape, ayant 
rendu graces a Dieu, dit entre autres paroles celle-cy, Sit ergo 
Tobis vox ista in rebus bellicis militare signum, quia verbum 
lioc a Deo est prolatum, cum in liostem fiet bellicosi impetus 
congressio, erit vniuersis hcec ex parte Dei vna vociferatio Deus 
vult, Deus vult. D'oli on recueille pourquoy le cry est appelle' 
Signum Dei dans quelques Auteurs." — Ducange, Dissertations 
sur VHistoire de St. Louis, Dissert, xi. 

NOTE VII. — CHAP. IV. 

I have used the term Counts Palatine, from the old writer 
whose name stands in the margin. The peculiar position of 
these counts palatine, under the ever changing dynasties of 
early Europe, is a curious and interesting subject of inquiry, 
but one too extensive to be fully treated in this place. I hope, 
at some future period, to speak of it in a more comprehensive 
work. The learned author, whose works have furnished me 
w T ith the preceding note, affords a good view of the original 
functions of the Counts of the Palace, or Counts Palatine. 



NOTES. 



341 



" Sovs la premiere et la seconde race de nos Rois, les comtes 
faisoient la fonction dans les prouinces et dans les villes capi- 
tales du royaume, non seulement de gouuerneurs, mais encore 
celle de juges. Leur principal employ estoit 'd'y decider les 
differents et les proces ordinaires de leur justiciables ; et ou ils 
ne pouvoient se transporter sur les lieux, ils commettoient a cet 
effet leurs vicomtes et leurs lieutenans. Quant aux affaires 
d'importance, et qui meritoient d'estre jugees par la bouche du 
prince, nos m^mes rois auoient des comtes dans leurs palais, et 
pres de leurs personnes, ausquels ils en commettoient la con- 
noissance et le jugement, qui estoient nommez ordinairement, 
acause de cet illustre employ, Comtes du Palais, ou Comtes 
Palatins. - -- -- -- -- - 



" II y a lieu de croire que dans la premiere race de nos Rois, et 
m£me dansle commencement dela seconde, la charge de Comte 
du Palais n' estoit exercee que par vn seul, qui jugeoit les dif- 
ferens, assiste de quelques Conseillers Palatins, qui sont appellez 
Scabini Palatii, Echeuins du Palais, dans la Chronique de S. Vin- 
cent de Wlturne. - -- -- -- - 



"On ne peut pas toutefois disconuenir qu'il n'y ait eu'en m^me 
temps plusieurs Comtes du Palais. Car Eguinard en vne de ses 
Epitres, dit en termes expr£s qu'Adalard et Geboin estoient 
Comtes du Palais en meme temps. Et vn titre de Louys le 
Debonnaire de Pan 938. qui se lit aux Antiquitez de PAbbaye 
de Fulde est souscrit de ce Gebawinus, ou Gebuinus, et de 
Ruadbertus, qui y prennent qualite de Comtes du Palais." 

NOTE VIII. — CHAP. V. 

The habit of carrying a small wallet when bound on a pil- 
grimage, is one of the oldest customs of the Christian world. 
This part of the pilgrim's dress was called afterwards an aumo- 
niere, and served either as a receptacle for containing the alms 
received on the journey, or, when worn by the rich, as a repo- 
sitory for those they intended to give away. The curious fact 
of Charlemagne having borne one of these wallets to Rome, and 
of its having been buried with him, is mentioned in the XVth 
Dissertation on Joinville. 



342 



NOTES. 



" Cassian traitant des habits et des vetemens des anciens 
Moines d'Egypte, dit qu'ils se reuetoient d'vn habit fait de 
peaux de chevre, que Ton appelloit Melotes, et qu'ils portoient 
ordinairement l'escarcelle et le baton. Les termes de cet Au- 
teur nesont pas toutefois bien clairs, en cet endroit-la : Vltimus 
est habitus eorum pellis Caprina, qua Melotes, vel pera appella- 
tur, et laculus. Car il n'est pas probable que cet habit de 
peaux de cheure ait este appelle Pera. Ce qui a donne sujet a 
quelques Commentateurs de restituer Penula. Neantmoins Isi- 
dore et Papias, comrae aussi, iElfric dans son Glossaire Saxon, 
ont ecrit apres Cassian, que Melotis, estoit la meme chose que 
Pera. Quant a moy j'estime que Cassian a entendu dire que 
ces Moines, outre ce vetement fait de peaux, auoient encore 
coutume de porter vn petit sachet, et vn baton, dont ils se ser- 
uoient durant leurs pelerinages. Ce qui se peut aisement conci- 
lier, en restituant le mot appellatur, on le sousentendant, apres 
Melotes. Tant y a que Cassian parle du baton des Moines an 
Chapitre suiuant ; et dans l'vne de ses Collations, il fait assez, 
voir que lorsqu'ils entreprenoient quelque voyage, ils prenoient 
Pvn et l'autre : Cum accepissemus peram et baculum, vt ibi 
moris est Monachis vniuersis iter agentibus. Le Moine d'An- 
gouleme ecrit que le corps de Charlemagne, apres sa mort, 
fut inhume auec tous ses habits Imperiaux, et que pardessus on 
y posa l'escarcelle d'or, dont les pelerins se seruent ordinaire- 
ment, et qu'il auoit coutume de porter lorsqu'il alloita Rom : 
et super vestimentis Imperialibus pera peregrinalis aurea po- 
sita est, quam Rom am portare solitus erat. D'ou il resulte 
que le baton et l'escarcelle ont touj ours este* la marque par- 
ticuliere des Pelerins, ou comme parle Guillaume de Malmes- 
bury, Solatia'et indicia itineris. 

i( Les Pelerins de la Terre Sainte, auant que d'entreprendre 
leurs pelerinages, alloient rcecuoir l'escarcelle et le bourdon des 
mains des Prestres dans l'Eglise. ------ 

(( Et cela s'est pratique memes par nos Rois, lorsqu'ils ont 
voulu entreprendre ces longs et facheux voyages d'outremer 
Car apres auoir charge leurs e'paules de la figure de la Croix, ils 
auoient coutume de venir en l'Abbaye de S. Denys, et la, apres 
la celebration de la messe, ils receuoient des mains de quelque 
Prelat le baton de Pelerin et l'escarcelle, et memes l'Oriflamme, 



NOTES. 343 

ensuite dequoy ils prenoient conge* de S. Denis, Patron du Roy- 
aume." 

a 

NOTE IX. — CHAP. VII. 

The pretence of the Count of Toulouse for resisting the 
claims of Boemond to the possession of Antioch, was, that he 
had vowed to the emperor Alexius to deliver up all conquests to 
him alone. This was but specious covering for his own avarice. 
The terms in which Baldric mentions the cession of Antioch to 
Boemond are as follows ; and it will be seen that much more 
notice was taken of Alexius than that contemptible usurper de- 
served. 

" Locuti sunt igitur ad invicem Chiistianorum duces, et sponte 
sua Boamundo subintulerunt : Vides quo in articulo res nostra 
posita sit. Si civitatem ergo istam vel prece vel pretio, nobis 
etiam juvantibus poteris obtinere, nos earn tibi unanimiter 
concedimus : salvo in omnibus quod Imperatori, te collaudante, 
fecimus Sacramento. Si ergo Imperator nobis adjutor advene- 
rit, juratasque pactionescustodierit, perjuri vivere nolumus : sed 
quod pace tua, dictum sit, nos illi earn concedimus : sin autem, 
tuse semper sit subdita potestati. Ex Historia Hierosolymitand 
Baldriciy Episcopi JDolensis.'* 

NOTE X. — CHAP. X. 

Even in the days of Ducange the form and colour of the Ori- 
flamme, or standard borne to battle before the kings of France 
was so far forgotten,that the learned antiquary bestowed no small 
research to ascertain its texture and appearance. His erudition 
never left any thing in uncertainty ; but though he proved the par- 
ticular banner called the Orifiamme to have been red ; yet 
Guillaume Guiart mentions one of fine azure, which was carried 
before Philip Augustus to the siege of Acre. Ducange speaks 
of the Orifiamme as follows : 

" Pour commencer par la recherche du nom d'Oriflamme, la 
plupart des Ecriuains estiment, qu'on le doit tirer de sa matiere, 
de sa couleur, et de sa forme. Quant a sa figure, il est hors de 
doute qu'elle estoit faite comme les bannieres de nos Eglises, que 
Ton porte ordinairement aux processions, qui sont quarries, 



344 



SOTES. 



fendues en diuers endroits par le bas, ornees de franges, et 
attaches par le haut a vn baton de trauers, qui les tient eten- 
due's, et est soutenu d'vne forme de pique. lis ajoutent que sa 
matiere estoit de soye, ou de tafetas, sa couleur rouge, et tirant 
sur celle du feu, et de la sandaraque, a laquelle Pline attribue 
celle de la flamme. II est vray que pour la couleur, tous les 
Ecriuains conuiennent qu'elle estoit rouge. Guillaume le Bre- 
ton en sa Philippide, la decrit ainsi : 

1 Ast Regi satis est tenues crispare per auras 
Vexillum simplex, cendato simplice textum, 
Splendoris rubei, Letania qualiter vti 
Ecclesiana solet, certis ex more diebus 
Quod cum flamma habeat vulgariter aurea nomen, 
Omnibus in bellis habet omnia signa preire.' 
** Guillaume Guiart en son Histoire de France, en la vie de 
Philippes Auguste, a ainsi traduit ces vers : 
* Oriflamme est vne banniere, 
Aucune poi plus forte qui quimple, 
De cendal roujoiant et simple, 
Sans pourtraiture d'autre affaire.' 



" L'Oriflamme estoit Tenseigne particuliere de PAbbe* et du 
Monastere de S. Denys, qu'ils faisoient porter dans leurs guerres 
par leur Auoiie\ Car c'estoit-la la principale fonction des 
Auoiiez, qui en qualite de defenseurs et de protecteurs des Mo- 
nasteres et des Eglises, entreprenoient . la conduit de leurs vas- 
saux pour la defense de leurs droits, et portoient leurs enseignes 
a la guerre : d'ou vient qu'ils sont ordinairement appellez, les 
porte-enseignes desEglise, signiferi Ecclesiarum, comme j'espere 
justifier ailleurs Les Comtes du Vexin et de Pontoise auoient ce 
titre dans le Monastere de S. Denys, dont ils estoient les Auoiiez, 
et les protecteurs, et en cette qualite ils portoient V Oriflamme 
dansles guerres qui s'entreprenoient pour la defense de ses biens. 



" II faut done tenir pour constant que Louys le Gros fut le 
premier de nos Rois, qui en qualite de Comte du Vexin tira 
l'Oriflamme de dessus Pautel de 1'Eglise de S. Denys, et la fit 
porter dans ses armies, comme la principale enseigne du Pro- 



NOTES. 



345 



tecteur de son Royaume, et dont il inuoquoit le secours dans 
son cry d'armes --------- 

" II est arriue dans la suite que nos Rois, qui estoient entrez 
dans les droits de ces Comtes, s'en sont seruis, pour leurs 
guerres particulieres, comme estant la banniere qui portoit le 
nom du Protecteur de leur Royaume, ainsi que j'ay remarqu£, 
la tirans, de dessus l'autel de TEglise S. Denys, auec les niemes 
ceV^monies, et les memes prieres, que Ton auoit accouteme' 
<Tobserver, lorsqu'on la niettoit entre les mains des Comtes du 
Vexin pour les guerres particulieres de ce Monastere. Ces cere- 
monies sont ainsi d^crites par Raoul de Presle, au Traite dont 
je viens de parler en cestermes : Premierement la procession 
vous vient a l'encontre jusques a Tissue du Cloistre, et apr^s la 
procession, atteints les benoists corps Saints de Monsieur S. 
Denys, et ses Compagnons, et mis sur Tautel en grande reue- 
rence, et aussi le corps de Monsieur S. Louys, et puis est mise 
cette banniere ploiee sur les corporaux, ou est consacre le corps 
de N. S. Jesus Christ, lequel vous receuez dignement apr£s la 
celebration de la Messe : si fait celuy lequel vous auez esleu a 
bailler, comme au plus prud homme et vaillant Cheualier ; et 
ce fait, le baisez en la bouche, et luy baillez, et la tient en ses 
mains par grande reuerence, afin que les Barons assistans le 
puissentbaiser comme reliques et choses dignes, et en luy baillant 
pour le porter, luy faites faire serment solemnel de le porter et 
garder en grande reuerence, et a l'honneur de vous et de vostre 
Royaume. ---------- 



NOTE XI. — CHAP. XIII. 

Villehardouin is undoubtedly the best authority for all the 
particulars of the siege of Constantinople. Nicetas was extra- 
vagantly prejudiced ; and though the emperor Baldwin, in his 
letters to the Pope, was as frank as any man in his situation 
could be, it was but natural that he should endeavour to show 
the causes of the warfare in the most favourable point of view — 
that he should represent the conduct of himself and his com- 
panions with every advantage — in fact that he should see the 
-events which raised him to the throne through a peculiar 
medium, and represent them tinged with the same colours that 
they presented to his own eyes. 



346 



NOTES. 



Villehardouin wrote without many of these disadvantages. 
He did not belong to the pillaged and conquered class like 
Nicetas, nor did he write to excuse himself in the eyes of the 
Pope. He had his prejudices, of course, like other men, but 
these prejudices were greatly prevented from affecting his his- 
tory by the frank simplicity of chivalrous manners which no 
one possessed in greater purity than he did himself. 

In two points Philippe Mouskes gives a different account of 
the affairs of Constantinople from Villehardouin. In the first 
place he states that Alexius Angelus, the brother of Isaac, com- 
manded his nephew to be drowned, but that by entreaties, the 
prince moved those persons who were charged with the cruel 
order. In the next place he says that Murzuphlis caused Alexius 
the younger to be poisoned. 

In regard to the destruction of the monuments of art com- 
mitted by the Latins, Nicetas gives a melancholy, though some- 
what bombastic account. The famous works destroyed were as 
follows, according to his statement : 

A colossal Juno, from the forum of Constantine, the head of 
which was so large that four horses could scarcely draw it from 
the spot where it stood, to the palace. 

The statue of Paris, presenting the apple to Venus. 

An immense bronze pyramid, crowned by a female figure, 
which turned with the wind. 

The colossal statue of Bellerophon, in bronze, which was 
broken down, and cast into the furnace. Under the inner nail 
of the horse's hind foot, on the left side, was found a seal, 
wrapped in a woollen cloth. 

A figure of Hercules, by Lysimachus, of such vast dimen- 
sions that the circumference of the thumb was equal in measure- 
ment to the waist of an ordinary man. From the attitude of 
this statue, as described by Nicetas, it is not improbable that it 
served as a model for that piece of sculpture, the only part of 
which that remains is the famous Torso. 

The Ass and his'Driver, cast by order of Augustus, after the 
battle of Actium, in commemoration of his having discovered 
the position of Antony through the means of a peasant and his 
beast, the one bearing the name of Fortunate, and the other 
that of Conqueror. 

The Wolf suckling the Twins of Rome ; the Gladiator in* 



NOTES. 



347 



combat with a Lion ; the Hippopotamus ; the Sphynxes, and 
the famous Eagle fighting with a Serpent ; all underwent the 
same fate, as well as the beautiful statue of Helen, which 
Nicetas speaks of as the perfection of statuary. 

Added to these were the exquisite figure on the race-course ; 
and a group, wherein a monster, somewhat resembling a bull, 
was represented engaged in deadly conflict with a serpent. 

Each appeared expiring under the efforts of the other ; the 
snake crushed between the teeth of the monster, and the bull 
tainted to the heart by the venom of the reptile : no bad emblem 
of the struggle between the bold and furious valour of the Latins 
and the poisonous treachery of the Greeks themselves. 

NOTE XII. — CHAP. XIV. 

That St. Louis was threatened with the torture is an un- 
doubted fact. Though what that sort of torture was which 
Joinville calls les Bernicles, is not so clear. Ducange fancies 
that it was the Cippus of the ancients ; and, whether it was or 
not, the resolution of the monarch in resisting, showed not a 
little fortitude. I subjoin Ducange's observations. 

" Le Sire de 'Joinville dit que le Sultan de Babylone, ou son 
Conseil fit faire au Roy des propositions peu raisonables, croy- 
ant qu'il y consentiroit pour obtenir sa deliurance, et celle de 
ceux de sa suite, qui auoient este* faits prisonniers auec luy en la 
bataille de Massoure. Et sur ce que le Roy refusa absolument d'y 
donner les mains, il le voulut intimider ; et le menapa de luy 
faire souffrir de grands tourmens. Mathieu Paris : Cum fre- 
quenter a Saracenis cum terribilibus comminationibus sollici- 
taretur Rex vt Damiatam redderet, et noluit vM ratione, pos- 
tularunt summam sibi pecuniae persolui sine diminutione, vel 
diuturno cruciatu vsque ad mortem torqueretur. Ce tourment 
est appelle par le Sire^de .Touinville les Bernicles, lequel il de- 
crit en ces termes. Et voyans les Sarazins que le Roy ne 
vouloit obtemperer a leur demandes, ils le menacerent de le 
mettre en Bernicles : qui est le plus grief tourment qu'ils puis- 
sent faire a nully : Et sont deux grans tisons de bois, qui sont 
entretenans au chef. Et quant ils veulent y mettre aucun, ils le 
couschent sur le couste entre ces deux tisons, et luy font passer 
les jambes a trauers de grosses cheuilles : puis couschent la 



348 



NOTES. 



piece de bois, qui est la-dessus, et font asseoir vn homme dessus 
les tisons. Dont il auient qu'il ne demeure a celuy qui est la 
cousch^ point demy pied d'osseniens, qu'il ne soit tout desrompu 
et escache\ Et pour pis luy faire, au bout des trois jours luy re- 
niettent les jambes, quisont grosses et enflees, dedens celles ber- 
nicles, et le rebrisent derechief, qui est vne chose moult cruelle 
a qui sauroit entendre : et la lient a gros nerfs de boeuf par la 
teste, de peur qu'il ne se reniue la dedans. u 



THE END. 



C, WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND. 




